Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
"I think the national leader or vice leader had better not talk about these questions [changing the nation's name] so lightly and easily," Ma said in a question-and-answer session of the Taipei City Council.
"Changing the country's name not only violates the Constitution but also breaks President Chen's `five noes' pledge," Ma said. He said that Chen mentioned the "five noes" in his inauguration speech and that Lu's proposal would complicate cross-strait relations.
"I wonder if Vice President Lu had discussed the issue with President Chen before she made the suggestion," Ma said. "I think it is an issue that needs discussion by the whole nation. In addition, the name `Taiwan Republic of China' doesn't quite make sense and sounds awkward."
Lu made the suggestion Monday at a dinner party with overseas Taiwanese in San Francisco during a stopover on her return from a diplomatic visit to the nation's Central American allies.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Vincent Siew (
"It would damage President Chen's credibility if Vice President Lu made the remarks about the country's name under the circumstances that the DPP or the Presidential Office have not reached the consensus on the issue of changing the country's name," Siew said at a forum on cross-strait interactions.
Ma responded to questions by People First Party (PFP)City Councilors Dai Hsi-chin (
"I just want to do a good job in municipal constructions, and none of my officials see themselves as `Ma's troops,'" he said.
City spokesman Wu Yu-sheng (
Bureau of Education Director Wu Ching-chi (
"I still am evaluating the opportunity to campaign for the legislature. I hope my joining in the election will enlarge the political territory of the pan-blue camp," Lin said yesterday. Wu Ching-chi said his ideas regarding the elections were similar to Lin's.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods