Taiwan will send delegations to the US, Europe and Japan to try to assure them a controversial referendum would not change the nation's political status quo with China, a group member said yesterday.
Parris Chang (
"As a major power, China should be more responsible and not behave like a bully," Chang, whose delegation will visit Britain, France, Germany and EU officials, said.
"We do not seek to change the status quo. We certainly don't use this referendum for independence as such. We do hope this referendum could accomplish peace," Chang said.
The delegations of senior officials and academics are scheduled to leave Taiwan on Friday and plan to meet with officials, lawmakers, think tanks and media in those countries.
China condemned Chen on Wednesday for saying he was waging a "holy war" against it, calling him immoral and accusing him of fanning anti-Beijing sentiment to win votes.
Chen shows no signs of backing down on holding the "peace referendum" alongside presidential elections on March 20, despite a blunt warning from US President George W. Bush against either side upsetting the status quo.
But Chen's chief of staff, Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), became the first in the president's camp to admit the referendum plan could become an election liability for Chen if the government failed to ease international concerns, local newspapers reported yesterday.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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