President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday acknowledged that she had confused the facts surrounding the purchase of the building housing the nation’s representative office in New York City during a speech she gave on Aug. 17 in Taichung, following criticism from former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Talking about her accomplishments in her career in government, Tsai said that she had had the “boldness and vision” to buy the building that houses the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office In New York, which has “become a landmark” in the city.
The president yesterday said she was sorry that her mistake had created a disturbance, and she thanked those who brought the mistake to her attention.
Photo: CNA
During the years of the building’s planning she had been a national security team member and had taken part in many discussions involving the nation’s policies regarding its relationship to the US, Tsai said.
Part of that participation involved supporting increases in the foreign affairs budget to pay for the building, which she felt was at the front line of the nation’s diplomacy, she said.
Then-premier Yu Shyi-kun’s decision to purchase the building was the right choice, and the hard work of foreign affairs officials at the time is the main reason ties between the two nations continue to deepen today, she said.
In a Facebook post on Friday, Chen had criticized Tsai’s account of her participation in buying the building.
“That purchase was made during the time that Yu Shyi-kun was premier. [Tsai] had no part in it, and yet she can say such a thing,” he wrote.
Planning for and the establishment of the New York office took place from July 2004 to March 2005, while Tsai did not become vice premier until Jan 25, 2006 — when Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) replaced Yu — so she could not have had anything to do with setting up the office, he said.
The decision to buy the building, which cost NT$1.4 billion (US$44.5 million at the current exchange rate), and today is valued at NT$4.5 billion, had come from Yu, Chen wrote, adding that renovations had cost NT$300 million.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused Tsai of “wanting to be a “’god by reaping the rewards of others’ hard work.”
“Tsai wants to take the credit for the hard work of foreign affairs officials. Is this kind of person qualified for re-election?” KMT Legislator Tung Hui-chen (童惠珍) said.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS