Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and a lawmaker yesterday filed separate charges of treason against former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), accusing him of breaching national security by attending a Chinese military parade marking the end of World War II in Beijing on Thursday.
Lu filed the charges at the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office in Taipei, calling Lien a traitor for betraying the nation and trampling on the dignity and honor of Taiwanese.
She also demanded that Lien be banned from leaving the country.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安), leading the party’s youth wing, filed similar charges at the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office.
She demanded that the government stop paying Lien an “overly generous pension” of NT$370,000 per month for the various government posts he held throughout his career.
“Lien has sold out Taiwan for his own personal glory. He attended the event in Beijing by sitting in a section for VIPs from the ‘Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Regions.’ His action has belittled and insulted Taiwanese sovereignty and the dignity of our people,” Chou said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
“At the military parade, Lien saluted and applauded the Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops and their weapons, many of which are killing machines meant to be used against Taiwanese,” she said. “This is an outrage to our armed forces and Lien will be repudiated by people of all political stripes and ethnic groups here in Taiwan.”
Citing a ruling in a case involving Chinese spy Zhen Xiaojiang (鎮小江), Chou said the court’s decision affirmed that the Chinese communist regime is still “an enemy of the state.”
“Lien was a former vice president, but he is now colluding with Chinese leaders to trumpet and promote propaganda for an enemy state,” she said. “Lien has therefore violated the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Criminal Code by conspiring and colluding with a foreign state intending to start a war against our nation.”
Lu said Lien should be charged and prosecuted, because he has betrayed Taiwanese and infringed on the nation’s sovereignty.
Taiwan has seen many cases of espionage wherein state secrets are leaked to China because of the judicial system’s failure to uphold the National Security Act and the lenient sentences given to offenders, Lu said.
“Lien is not the only one. There are many retired generals and high-ranking military officials who are also betraying our nation by cozying up to China. I urge them to exercise self-restraint and obey the law on national security,” she said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he