Responding yesterday to the uproar over his visit to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine during his Japan trip, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (
"Those I paid homage to at the Yasukuni Shrine are Taiwanese people's ancestors who died in a foreign land," Shu said.
"The last thing I would do is to recognize militarism," the TSU leader said.
"Those political parties and figures who criticized me should consider how much they did for their ancestors who are buried in a foreign land," he said.
Shu made the remarks yesterday morning at a TSU press conference welcoming 100 new members to the party.
The new TSU recruits gave Shu a bouquet of flowers and voiced support for him.
Shu and eight fellow TSU members came back from Japan on Tuesday evening and were greeted by hostile protesters, led by Aboriginal Legislator Kao Chin Su-mei (
When heading for the airport exit, Shu was manhandled by an angry mob.
"I believe that TSU's growth and maturity depends on the support of Taiwanese people and their identification with Taiwan," Shu said.
"I used to be in the military, so I wasn't intimidated by the protesters," he added.
At yesterday's TSU press conference, members of the pro-unification Patriot Association (
Shu said that his visit to Japan focused mainly on strengthening cooperation between Taiwan and Japan with regard to international security, and he felt sorry that some people distorted the intent of his visit into a tribute to Japanese militarism.
"It is ironic that some political parties to stigmatize my visit to Japan, yet justify their collaboration with China," Shu said.
"China has 700 missiles pointed at Taiwan ... they are the ones who embrace militarism," he said.
TSU spokesman Chen Chien-ming (
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (
"China's `Anti-Secession' Law is aimed at resolving the `Taiwan issue' with `non-peaceful means,'" Lee said.
"This has aroused concern from the international community about China expanding its military capabilities. I think that's a point that people should pay attention to," he said
"According to the DPP's policy, we aim to settle disputes with peaceful means, not force. We oppose militarism of any kind," Lee said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
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