Intimidation will only drive Taiwan further away from China, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) delivered a tough speech on national sovereignty in Beijing.
During a nearly one-hour speech to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Xi said China would never permit the loss of “any piece” of its land.
DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign country, and Taiwan’s future has to be decided by its 23 million citizens through a democratic process.
“China has to respect the fact that the ROC exists, respect the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, respect the faith of Taiwanese in democratic values and respect Taiwan’s democratic system and the choices of its people,” Wang said.
Peace and development across the Taiwan Strait have to be built on reciprocal interactions and dialogues and increased mutual understanding to maintain regional stability, he said.
“Any intimidating language will only drive Taiwan away and is detrimental to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations,” he said.
Xi also emphasized that the PLA’s highest loyalty is to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and demanded that it possess the “four consciousnesses”: ideology, the whole, the core and the line.
Taiwan Thinktank researcher Tung Li-wen (董立文) said as Xi has been styled the “core” of the CCP and his talk of the “four consciousnesses” indicates a desire to assert personal control over the military and consolidate his political power ahead of the party’s 19th National Congress this fall.
In a major break from tradition, no former party chairmen were present at yesterday’s anniversary parade, Tung said.
Those actions showed that Xi intends to transform the PLA into “an armed guard of the party under his personal control,” he said.
“Xi is clearly the most powerful man in China. However, if Xi’s power base really is secure, why does he need to posture so frequently and openly in demonstration of his power?” Tung said.
The fragility or strength of Xi as core leader can only be determined after the next generation of leaders emerge during the national congress, Tung said.
As of press time last night, the government had not officially responded to Xi’s speech.
Additional reporting by AP
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS