Lawmakers of all stripes yesterday criticized the government for failing to avert Vice President Annette Lu's (
Some urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to punish inept and negligent officials while others suggested Lu immediately return to the country in a show of indignation.
Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he regretted Lu's predicament in Indonesia Wednesday and that the premature exposure of her surprise visit contributed to the latest diplomatic blunder.
The vice president was stranded in Jakarta's international airport for two hours as the Indonesian government, bowing to pressure from China, denied her entry to its capital. Lu had to fly on to the popular resort island of Bali instead.
"No doubt Beijing is to blame for relentlessly suppressing Taiwan's diplomatic space, but authorities at home should also launch a probe into the leak," Wang told reporters.
Extensive media reports on the eve of Lu's visit were believed to have helped spoil her plan to break Chinese isolation by making a surprise trip to the Southeast Asian neighbor.
DPP legislative leader Ker Chien-ming (
He said the vice president originally hoped to make diplomatic inroads during her visit there but the plan foundered after Beijing lodged strong protests with Jakarta. Indonesia has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
"Beijing's intimidating tactics are deplorable," Ker said. "In the meantime, the government [here] is apparently wanting in its ability to protect secret information."
While Wang and Ker shied away from naming the culprit, TSU Legislator Wang Cheng-chung (
In a press statement, the lawmaker panned the ministry and its Indonesian representatives for being slow in dealing with the diplomatic incident.
He said that diplomats based in Jakarta failed to come to Lu's aid until hours after the vice president landed in the country.
"This and earlier diplomatic setbacks show that the ministry is in serious need of reform," he said, naming one of the setbacks as the loss of diplomatic ties with the Pacific island-state of Nauru.
The lawmaker pressed the ministry to conduct a sweeping review of its intelligence-gathering and decision-making units and sack inept and negligent staffers without delay.
"The existence of insensitive and incompetent officials is more disappointing than China's diplomatic strangulation," he said.
Sharing the rage, the KMT's legislative caucus suggested the vice president return home immediately to protest the humiliating treatment.
"The whole incident is unbelievable," KMT lawmaker Tseng Yung-chuan (
He called on Lu to cut short her vacation in a gesture of protest against her predicament, which the legislator added has harmed the nation's dignity.
The vice president plans to stay in Indonesia for four days.
PFP legislative leader Shen Chih-hwei (
"The government should take steps to protect the vice president from being further humiliated," she urged.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)