People First Party (PFP) Chair-man James Soong (宋楚瑜) left for Seoul yesterday to meet with South Korean political leaders and business executives as part of the "pan-blue" alliance's presidential campaign activities.
Soong, who is Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
"We'll put forward a campaign platform that advocates `five yeses': Taiwan's status quo must be maintained, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait must co-exist peacefully, the people of Taiwan must have the final say on Taiwan's destiny, Taiwan's liberal, democratic lifestyle can never be compromised and its stability and prosperity must be sustained," he said.
Soong refrained from commenting directly on Chen's plan for a new Constitution in 2006, saying that he refused to comment on the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) campaign rhetoric.
Soong reminded the DPP that among Chen's "Five No's" were that he would not declare independence, would not seek to change the nation's name and would not promote a referendum that would change Taiwan's status quo.
Soong said he felt apprehension when he heard of Chen's comments about pushing for a new Constitution.
Soong said that as a national leader Chen should not have addressed such a critical issue in such a cavalier manner.
"Chen's overture only reflects the DPP's unrefined policy-making process," he said.
Soong said that during his trip he will brief South Korean politicians and business leaders on Taiwan's situation and the alliance's campaign platform.
"The visit is part of my good-neighbor drive aimed at helping our foreign friends understand the `pan-blue' alliance's basic policy lines and stances on a number of critical issues, including regional security and Taiwan's internal reforms," Soong said.
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
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Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard