President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the first lady were invited by Douglas Paal -- the director of the American Institute in Taiwan -- to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner at Paal's residence on Yangminshan last night, Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (黃志芳) told the Taipei Times.
"The arrangement is just a regular diplomatic activity, just as has been held for many years," Huang said.
"It was just like the previous one last year when Taiwan's President and first lady enjoyed the turkey dinner with the US top representative to Taiwan," Huang said.
He denied that any particular topic had been scheduled for discussion during the dinner banquet, saying that it was a purely social affair, during which the guests would usually not discuss any official issues.
"Everybody enjoys some cheerful conversation and a warm atmosphere, and it was a dinner no different from any previous one," Huang said.
However, the recent meeting between Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
According to Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the US, Chen Chien-jen (程建人) -- who returned to Taiwan for diplomatic consultations last week -- the Chinese president had offered to scale down the number of ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan, in exchange for an US commitment to reduced arms sales to Taiwan.
Paal had mentioned during a private gathering earlier this week that Jiang's proposal is a developing issue.
Vice President Annette Lu (
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai