President Chen Shui-bian (
"Lien has given us many different versions of his stance on the cross-strait relationship issue, but he has never told the public which one of his avowed beliefs is the truth," Chen said during a campaign activity in Taipei City yesterday.
The president said Lien had approved of former president Lee Teng-hui's (
"Now he even asks the people of the country to accept his idea of `putting aside sovereignty' to negotiate with China," Chen said.
"Moreover, his running mate, Soong, once advocated the `one China' theory, which stated that Taiwan is a part of China, as well as a `quasi-international relationship' to describe the cross-strait status quo in the 2000 presidential election," Chen said.
Chen reminded the public that Lien at once severely criticized Soong for his advocacy of "capitulation."
"Lien even called Soong an opportunist who would absolutely sell out Taiwan if he won the presidential election," Chen said.
"Those two politicians, who apparently have no concrete dedication to their country, are now hand-in-hand and want to run for head of state," he said. "How can we trust them?"
Chen stressed that his commitment to protect Taiwan's sovereignty remains unchanged, while his opponents had always been inconsistent on this issue.
"Anything but the nation's sovereignty can be put aside," said Chen.
During last week's TV debate, Lien said that both sides should put aside sovereignty issues and precede with negotiating administrative affairs in response to one of Chen's questions about how to meet a timetable for establishing direct links, in light of Beijing's "one China" principle.
Chen attacked Lien for giving up Taiwan's sovereignty, saying that such an approach was hazardous.
Lien has said over the past few days that Chen viciously misinterpreted his remarks.
"What I was saying is that both sides should put aside those issues related to the sovereignty dispute and focus on those negotiations touching on administrative affairs," Lien said during yesterday's campaign activity.
"Chen Shui-bian is just playing his old trick of putting a label on me," Lien said.
However, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday kept attacking Lien's phrase "putting aside sovereignty," saying that its presidential campaign headquarters was prepared to make 100,000 VCD copies of the TV debate to distribute to the public.
"We believe that they can make their own judgment after watching the VCD," said DPP Department of Information and Culture Deputy Director Cheng Wen-tsan (
Meanwhile, Chen yesterday announced that Nobel laureate and Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh (
"Nine influential figures from different fields have promised to join the task force and Lee Yuan-tseh will be its convener," Chen said, adding that the task force will begin formal operations after March 20.
Chen vowed last Friday to form a task force to create a "peace and stability framework for cross-strait interaction," which is a part of the second question of the referendum.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
RSS