Premier Frank Hsieh (
"The reason we are doing this is because [the Chinese government] deprived us of our right to make our own free choice about the country's future. Of course, we have to do something about this kind of unfriendly behavior," Hsieh said during the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
"Government officials are also Taiwanese citizens, so they definitely have the right to express themselves. I shall stand with the people and that is why I decided to join the event," he said.
The premier said that the rally on Saturday is aimed at raising awareness in the international community of how upset the Taiwanese people are about the Anti-Secession Law.
While Taiwan has been trying to solve cross-strait problems, China has still not abandoned the possibility of launching military strikes against Taiwan, he said.
Hsieh once again urged people taking part in the rally not to use the event to promote their own political agenda or as a platform for disseminating propaganda.
"This will be a cross-party activity. That means people from different political parties will all be welcomed. As a result, I hope we can all focus on the theme of the rally," he said.
Speaking on behalf of the premier, Cabinet Spokesman Chou Jung-tai (
"We will not force anybody to participate in the rally, divide participants into groups or hold a roll call. Consequently, you will not see a team in so-called `Cabinet uniforms' during the rally," Chou said.
He told reporters that the premier has forbidden his fellow officials from using government resources for the rally or attending it during office hours.
"Some Cabinet members asked the premier whether they should gather at the starting line of the rally. The premier told them that they should participate in the rally at any time and anywhere at their best convenience," Chou said.
"That means the Cabinet will not attend as a group. All officials are more than welcome to join the rally anywhere along the route," the spokesman said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
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