Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu, who arrived in Houston Saturday evening for a three-day transit stay en route to a Central America diplomatic tour that will take her to El Salvador and Guatemala, made the appeal in a speech delivered at a dinner given in her honor by major Taiwanese associations in Texas.
The dinner happened to coincide with the passage of the "anti-secession" law by China's rubber-stamp parliament -- the National People's Congress -- in Beijing before the conclusion of its 10-day annual plenary session.
Lu said the legislation is actually a "war authorization law."
Lu said the law is "not a law," but rather a political statement aimed at forcing Taiwan to accept its "one China" principle as the ultimate means to unification.
By enacting the law, Lu said, Beijing has unequivocally revealed a move to unilaterally alter the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
As China is a member of the UN Security Council, Lu said, the UN should condemn China over its stark violation of the UN Charter, which she said bans the use of force in resolving international disputes.
The vice president also urged the US to show moral courage by denouncing the "anti-secession" law, which Lu said runs against the fundamental US premise of a peaceful solution to cross-strait disputes under which it established diplomatic ties with China in 1979.
On Sunday, Lu had lunch with a group of pro-Taiwan lawmakers at a Texas-style steakhouse in downtown Houston visited by President Chen Shui-bian (
Later in the day, she attended a rodeo at Reliant Park -- the world's largest cowboy showground and American football stadium.
Lu was accorded high-level courtesies, circling around the giant stadium aboard an open-topped limousine and being introduced to a full house as "Taiwan's vice president."
Wearing a cowboy hat, Lu waved to the crowd and received a resounding two-minute welcome. Many Taiwanese expatriates were surprised and excited by Lu's unexpected appearance. The show was also broadcast live to 52 countries.
Meanwhile, China's consulate in Houston mobilized a group of Chinese expatriates and students in Texas to demonstrate outside the restaurant where Lu dined with representatives of the Taiwanese community in the southern US state.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
RSS