Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu made the remarks during a tea party with a group of reporters covering the Presidential Office.
If the Chen is re-elected, Lu predicted, the Beijing authorities will come to understand that they have to negotiate with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration.
"This will be the first step in maintaining cross-strait stability," she said.
Should that be the case, Lu went on, the DPP and its pan-green allies will stand a good chance of winning a majority of seats in the year-end legislative elections.
Claiming that many of the administration's reform programs have been obstructed by the opposition-controlled legislature over the past four years, Lu said gaining a legislative majority will greatly facilitate the implementation of Chen's major policy initiatives.
Lu described the referendum as a historic event in Taiwan's democratic development.
"The referendum is a crucial first step to protect Taiwan's status quo," Lu said, adding that once the referendum results come out, China will no longer be able to turn a blind eye to the Taiwanese people's appeal for its withdrawal of the hundreds of missiles pointed at the nation.
Noting that Chen's referendum initiative has caught world attention and has thus helped make the Taiwan Strait issue an international concern, Lu said Taiwan can use the referendum to demonstrate to the world its desire for peace and commitment to preserving the status quo.
Lu said that the two referendum questions epitomize a two-pronged approach to push Beijing to negotiate with Taiwan for crafting a mechanism for peaceful interaction.
The two questions are:
"The people of the Taiwan demand that the Taiwan Strait issue be resolved through peaceful means. Should mainland China refuse to withdraw the missiles it has targeted at Taiwan and openly renounce the use of force against us, do you agree that the government should acquire more advanced anti-missile weapons to strengthen Taiwan's self-defense capabilities?"
"Do you agree that our government should engage in negotiation with China on the establishment of a peace and a stability framework for cross-strait interaction in order to build consensus and for the welfare of the peoples of both sides."
Lu said that even though the answers to the two questions may be self-evident, the referendum has to be held to manifest the people's sovereignty.
"I think there should be feasible ways to avoid a cross-strait war other than deploying anti-missile systems," she said.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS