Taiwan could learn a great deal about unity from the US and its response to last week's terrorist attacks, former president Lee Teng-hui (
"Look at the US. At its most difficult moment, members of the Congress, regardless of party affiliation, have all joined together. ... That is what a democratic country should be like," Lee told members of the Board of Industrial Park Manufacturers Federation at a luncheon yesterday.
PHOTO: HU WEI-MIN, TAIPEI TIMES
"Taiwan, on the other hand, is nothing like that," Lee said. "The lawmakers just act out skits like they are a part of some big drama and I have no idea what drama they think they are acting in. This type of behavior will only create fear and cause people to worry about our future.
"If you ask me, I am afraid for Taiwan's future," Lee said.
While President Chen Shui-bian (
"Some parties and some people are purposely pulling President Chen down to see whether he will collapse. What kind of attitude is that?" Lee asked.
"The only thing that these politicians dream about is getting back their power and becoming the next president. While Taiwan is in economic recession we cannot allow this chaos to continue."
Yesterday's luncheon was arranged by Huang Tzung-yuan (黃宗源), president of the manufacturers' association, and the Taiwan Solidarity Union.
DPP candidate for Taichung City Mayor Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲) was also in attendance.
Lee also defended his "no haste, be patient" policy yesterday, responding to recent comments made by Formosa Plastics tycoon Wang Yung-ching (
Lee said the policy had its time and purpose, but it wasn't responsible for driving Taiwan's economy into its current quagmire as Wang had claimed.
"The policy was made to help protect Taiwan's high-tech and infrastructure industries. Under the `no haste, be patient' policy, Taiwan's economic growth was stable and people were still making money," Lee said.
Lee also said he wasn't opposed to investment in China.
"I am not opposed to people making money in China. I encourage businessmen to make money everywhere in the world, but to be careful," Lee said.
He did, however, take issue with the government's timing of relaxing restrictions imposed by the policy, which limits investments to US$50 million and bans certain types of investments in China.
"The problem is that now -- at a time when you need blood -- you are still drawing blood and giving it to someone else," Lee said.
"The only thing that we can count on is China's cheaper labor. However, labor salaries will rise in China in the near future and they will experience the same problems Taiwan is experiencing right now.
"Taiwan should focus on improving our infrastructure industries and improving our investment environment rather than just moving our roots to China," he said.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)