A group of about 1,000 people yesterday protested in Kaohsiung’s Labor Park against China’s proposal to implement a “one country, two systems” framework in Taiwan.
The march, organized by Citizen Front Taiwan, also protested Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) visits last month to China’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau.
Critics said the visits were inappropriate and suggested that Han accepts China’s “one country, two systems” model.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
The protesters shouted “Today Hong Kong, tomorrow Taiwan” and “Reject ‘one country, two systems,’ resist Chinese annexation” and other slogans.
By visiting the offices and signing a memorandum of understanding on fruit exports with Chinese officials, Han is “returning to the old ways of [former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九)] administration,” Sunflower movement leader Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) told the crowd, accusing Han of “locking Taiwan into a ‘one China’ framework” in the name of boosting the economy.
Ma “placed all of Taiwan’s resources into China” during his presidency, like putting all of one’s eggs in one basket, Lin said.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
As a result, Taiwan’s economy became reliant on China, he said.
“Are we going to go back to the old ways?” he asked.
Han did not give prior notice of his visits to the offices, said Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan chairman Lee Ken-cheng (李根政), who also serves as an organizer of Citizen Front Taiwan.
Photo: Ko Yu-hao, Taipei Times
By entering the offices, Han “cooperated with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) ‘united front’ strategy,” Lee said.
Biased information from China makes it impossible for people to access correct information, Citizen Front Taiwan organizer Shen Pai-yang (沈柏洋) said.
National security officials need to act on the “information war” the nation is facing. Many countries are slowly being infiltrated by China, but the most serious case is Taiwan, which is the least able to resist infiltration, he added.
Edith Cheung (鍾慧沁), who in September last year immigrated from Hong Kong, said Hong Kongers only became poorer after the “one country, two systems” model was implemented there.
Real-estate prices went up due to Chinese buyers, and young Hong Kongers, faced with competition from China, could not find jobs, she said.
Charng Mei (常美冰店), an ice cream store in Cishan District (旗山), showed its support by sending 300 popsicles to the protesters.
The Kaohsiung City Police Department dispatched 100 police officers to the park to prevent any clashes between the protesters and members of the public.
TIGHTENED RULES: Employees in the affected sectors must be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1 or provide an exemption certificate, and they must undergo COVID-19 testing People working in sectors supervised by the education, economics, labor, and health and welfare ministries must be fully vaccinated by next month, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. “Starting from Jan. 1, vaccination rules for workers at industries supervised by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will be further enhanced,” said Centers for Disease Control Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), who is the CECC’s spokesman. New employees and those returning to work must provide a negative COVID-19 test result — an antigen rapid test, at-home rapid
THREAT REMAINS: With cases rising in many parts of the world, the minister urged the public to continue complying with the disease prevention regulations Taiwan can be considered to have achieved “COVID zero” status, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, despite the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reporting 21 imported cases of COVID-19, the highest number of daily imported infections reported this year. Chen, who heads the CECC, said no local infections or deaths were reported, but 21 imported cases were confirmed yesterday. The imported cases are eight men and 13 women who arrived from Belize, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the US, Chen said. The highest number of daily imported infections last year was 25 cases on March 23, he
NO ENTRY: The refusal to process Lithuanian goods at Chinese ports suggests that they have been ordered to do so by an official entity, a trade group head said The Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on the governments of other EU member states to jointly respond to Beijing blocking Lithuanian exports from entering China, as “Lithuania is not listed on the [Chinese customs] system as a country.” Lithuanian media Web site 15min.lt yesterday cited a Lithuanian wood exporter as saying that it was not allowed to unload its goods at an unnamed Chinese port. The company said that its Chinese partner cited customs authorities as saying that any merchandise or shipments related to Lithuania would be refused, effective immediately. Lithuanian timber exporter Sprusas confirmed that Lithuanian goods could be loaded
‘RESOLUTELY COMMITTED’: Sparking a crisis in the Taiwan Strait would be in no one’s interest, starting with China, the US secretary of state told a conference US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the Reuters Next conference on Friday that Chinese leaders should think carefully about their actions toward Taiwan, warning of “terrible consequences” if China precipitates a crisis across the Taiwan Strait. In an interview, Blinken addressed multiple foreign policy challenges facing the administration of US President Joe Biden, including faltering efforts to repair the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and the spiraling conflict in Ethiopia. Most acute might be China’s increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) has said tensions with China are at their worst in
RSS