Taiwan's representative to the US on Sunday urged China to take the initiative and give up its plan to enact an "anti-secession" law so as not to increase cross-strait tensions.
David Lee (
The "anti-secession" bill will soon be reviewed and is expected to be passed by the National People's Congress, Beijing's rubber-stamp parliament, when it meets next week.
Lee said that President Chen Shui-bian (
But Beijing has ignored the aspirations for world peace of the 23 million people of Taiwan and the international community, and is planning to enact the "anti-secession" law, which could be used as a legal basis for action against Taiwan, Lee said.
He noted that there is no precedent of formulating such a law in the world, and Beijing's purpose was to unilaterally define the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, deny the de jure existence of the Republic of China and provide a legal basis for the use of force against Taiwan should it declare independence.
Lee said that the "anti-secession" law is dictatorial, and a law to authorize war.
He urged the international community to use its influence to prevent Beijing from making any moves to sabotage regional peace and stability and address China's attempt to use force against Taiwan.
He said that the "anti-secession law" has no substantive benefits and will not be well-received by the people of Taiwan. It would destroy the ability of both sides to have further exchanges and resume bilateral talks, he added.
Overseas Taiwanese organized 19 events at 16 different locations to remember the 228 Incident and protest China's planned law over the weekend.
At 8pm yesterday, they were connected by telephone with the memorial rallies for the 228 Incident in Taiwan, and proclaimed their determination to defend Taiwan's freedom.
In the US, events were held in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, Austin, Dallas, New York, Houston and Kansas. In Canada, Britain, Germany and Japan, there were memorial services and parades to commemorate one of the bloodiest eras in the history of Taiwan.
More than 300 Taiwanese gathered on the square in front of the Taiwan Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night to sing Taiwanese folk songs amid chilly temperatures.
They lit candles and unveiled a huge signboard on the wall of the center.
"More than 700 Chinese missiles not only target Taiwan but all of East Asia," it read.
The memorial service lasted two hours.
In London, Taiwanese groups gathered on the square in front of [arliament and held signs protesting China's "anti-secession" law.
"The law will change the lives of the people in Taiwan," one of the signs read.
"Taiwan is not part of China," read another sign.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai