Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday appealed to all his supporters to help push Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) into the Presi-dential Office.
Ma also rebutted a rumor that his supporters would vote for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in order for Ma to be nominated as the KMT's next presidential candidate.
Ma's remarks came in response to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) predictions about the KMT's succession issues.
Chen said at campaign rally on Sunday night that Lien will have to step down as KMT chairman and take responsibility for KMT's failure.
He said he believed that Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"It was quite inappropriate for Chen to talk about the other camp just a few days before election day," Ma said at a news conference called by the pan-blue camp to announce its "new blueprint for Taiwan."
"Whether Chen will be reelected is still a big variable," Ma said. "I think he should propose more political platforms at this moment."
Ma said if Chen was reelected, Taiwan situation with regards to cross-strait affairs and international relations would worsen. He urged his supporters to vote for Lien and People First Party Chairman James Soong (
"I would not be thinking about my own political future if the country has huge problems," Ma said.
"Should we choose the wrong one again, we will have to live another four years with remorse," he said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine. The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth. The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander. The military
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