The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday it did not know of any interactions between the opposition parties and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) when asked to comment on the pan-blue camp's appeal to the US for help in solving the election dispute.
After losing the presidential election by a wafer-thin margin, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Victor Chin (
"But I believe the US will adhere to its principle of not interfering in other countries' internal and election affairs," Chin said.
So far the US has made no comment about the failed referendum, he said.
The referendum, proposed by Chen, asked the public whether it wanted the government to strengthen the nation's anti-missile defenses and whether the government should establish a "peace and stability framework" with China.
When Chen won the 2000 presidential election, the White House sent him a congratulatory message. This year, however, the US government congratulated the Taiwanese people for conducting "a democratic election campaign." The message was issued by the State Department.
Asked to comment on the difference between the congratulatory notes from the White House and the State Department, Chin said the question should be addressed to the US government.
Ministry spokesman Richard Shih (石瑞琦) said governments and political dignitaries from 62 countries had sent congratulatory notes for Chen's re-election by last night.
Meanwhile, an advisory committee to the Mainland Affairs Council convened yesterday to discuss the post-election cross-strait relationship.
Regarding Chen's plan to write a new constitution, the committee suggested that the government, when starting constitutional reform, take into account not only local opinion but also international concerns, especially those of the US and China.
The committee also urged the government to repair its relationship with the US, which is believed to have been damaged in the course of the campaign due to issues such as Chen's plans for a new constitution and the referendum.
Jan Jyh-horng (
Lacking official communication channels with the Chinese authorities, the council can only speculate on Beijing's response to the presidential vote by looking at the Chinese media's reports on the election.
Jan said that Beijing seemed to have been deliberately limiting media coverage of the presidential election, which made it particularly difficult for council officials to know what Beijing was really thinking about the vote.
The committee said Taiwan and China should encourage more cross-strait academic exchanges.
While Taiwanese and Chinese officials cannot freely exchange opinions, academics from both sides should be allowed to discuss whatever topics they are interested in and act as a bridge between both sides' governments, the committee suggested.
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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