The TSU would neither oppose direct links with China nor rule out contacts with Beijing, a lawmaker of the opposition party said yesterday.
TSU Legislator Eric Wu (
Wu said the TSU, which supports the "no haste, be patient" policy, has been misunderstood. It is perceived as an opposition party against the direct links, he added.
Lee, the TSU's spiritual leader, is opposed to a tumultuous rush of investment from Taiwan to China, Wu said.
"What [former] president Lee is against," Wu said, "is not the direct links per se, but the rush of capital investment across the Strait to the detriment of Taiwan's security and dignity."
During his term in office, Lee did not prohibit Taiwan entrepreneurs from investing in China, Wu said. Lee's administration only required government approval of investment projects with a subscribed capital of more than US$50 million.
Critics have mistakenly simplified the TSU's stance on the issue by branding it as a stubborn opponent to any direct links and contacts with China, Wu said.
"We are not opposed to the opening of the three links," the lawmaker said. "Nor are we opposed to direct contacts with Beijing."
The direct links are beneficial to both sides of the Strait, Wu continued. "Why not get going together [over the opening of direct links] within the framework of the WTO?" he asked.
Noting that Beijing allowed him to visit China recently, Wu said the People's Republic of China "is very pragmatic" in dealing with TSU members. Wu visited Beijing not as a TSU legislator but as president of the ROC Harvard Alumni Club.
On June 6, TSU lawmakers suggested that the government should take the bold step of opening the way for Chinese nationals to travel to Taiwan. They said that this would prevent Taiwan's tourism from being negatively affected by any possible future opening of direct links with China.
The lawmakers said that once the direct links are implemented, Taiwan's tourism would shrink substantially because people in Taiwan would prefer to travel in China rather than at home.
To avoid serious consequences for Taiwan's travel industry after any possible opening of links, TSU lawmakers called upon the government to create incentives to attract Chinese visitors to Taiwan.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS