President Chen Shui-bian (
Later in the day, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus said it would introduce a bill defending the "sovereignty of the Republic of China [ROC]" in an act of defiance against China's move to enshrine aggression toward Taiwan in Chinese law.
Chen was addressing a ceremony marking the promotion of military personnel to the post of general in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Noting China's increase in military spending even as it refused to renounce the use of force against Taiwan, Chen appealed to the public to support the arms-procurement budget, which is stalled in the legislature.
The DPP caucus is seeking the support of the People First Party (PFP) to push the bill through the legislature. In return, the DPP would support a first reading for the PFP's "cross-strait peace advancement" bill and its delivery to appropriate committees for review.
"We are proposing this bill to counter China's anti-secession bill, and there shouldn't be any reason for the pan-blue camp to oppose it," DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
Ker said that he would ask opposition caucuses to negotiate the matter on Monday and try to have the bill pass the Procedure Committee the following day so that it can be handled at the next legislative sitting.
The resolution states that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country neither governed by nor belonging to China. It also says that the cross-strait "status quo" cannot be changed unless the public consent to this via referendum.
The DPP's bill has not been welcomed by members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
"We definitely won't back it. If the DPP wants us to sign, they should make a new constitution first to define the ROC's status," TSU caucus whip Chen Chien-ming (
But it was not clear at press time if the TSU caucus had come up with a formal response, with acting chairman Huang Chung-yuan (
The PFP caucus, meanwhile, said it would back the bill only if the DPP added a clause opposing independence and insisting on the retention of the national title.
At the same time, PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
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Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
Central and southern Taiwan are to see increasingly heavy rainfall from last night through Friday due to the effects of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said Tropical Storm Co-May had weakened into a low-pressure system on Saturday, but that it strengthened again into a tropical depression (TD 11) near the seas around Japan's Ryukyu Islands due to favorable environmental conditions. The tropical depression is expected to persist for two to three days, moving west-northwest by this afternoon and reaching China's Zhejiang through the East China Sea tomorrow,
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