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.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS