Pro-independence groups yesterday called on the government to halt financial investment in China if Beijing decides to continue with its proposed "anti-secession" law, a bill believed to target Taiwan.
In a joint statement marking the 228 Incident, several civic and political pressure groups said the bill amounted to an aggressive provocation to the Taiwanese people.
The Taiwan Professors Association, the Northern Taiwan Society and members of the Lee Teng-hui School were among those signing yesterday's statement.
The "anti-secession" law runs counter to the principles of democracy and freedom, and it obliterates Taiwanese people's right to choose their own future, the statement said.
It went on to posit the bill as a direct threat to the safety of the scores of Taiwanese businesspeople, or taishang, working and living in China.
It is estimated that over 1 million Taiwanese businesspeople are currently doing business across the Taiwan Strait.
While Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) has said that the government plans to take a wait-and-see attitude regarding Beijing's legislation, political organizations yesterday urged officials to act more assertively on the matter.
The statement called on the government to recall from ministries and councils any resources allocated for the promotion of cross-strait exchanges as soon as the bill is passed.
In addition, the statement urged that the government temporarily halt authorization of all cross-strait activities, including investment, visa and visitation rights applications.
While the bill has caused a high level of concern in Taiwan, reports from Hong Kong indicate that it is no more than a page and a half long and draws primarily on previously issued policy on Taiwan, such as former Chinese President Jiang Zemin's (
It is also expected that the bill will sketch the basis for the use of non-peaceful means to resolve the cross-strait stalemate. It is slated to be reviewed on March 8 by China's top legislative organ, the National People's Congress (NPC).
In the days leading up to the NPC's deliberation of the bill, pro-independence groups have been making increasing efforts to be heard, arranging to meet with relevant government agencies such as the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition, the Taiwan Solidarity Union has already unveiled a draft of its anti-annexation law which is intended to counter Beijing's legislation.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching