Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will risk falling prey to Beijing's "united front" scheme if he refuses to talk with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and visits China as planned, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus whip warned yesterday.
Lai Ching-teh (賴清德) said that if Lien goes to China without prior consultations with Chen on cross-strait issues, he will risk compromising the nation's sovereignty, while "stealing" the administration's authority.
Lai claimed that if he makes the trip, Lien will be poised to confer upon himself the title of "chief executive of the Taiwan special administration region" under China.
Lai said that as of yesterday, the KMT had not responded favorably Chen, who said a day earlier that he is willing to support Lien's planned visit to China but that he and Lien should meet first.
Chen made the remarks at CKS International Airport upon his return from a historic trip to the Vatican to attend Pope John Paul II's funeral. Chen's trip marked the first ever visit to Europe by a serving president.
The KMT leadership only reportedly said that a meeting with Chen prior to Lien's China visit would "put a millstone round Lien's neck" and that Lien has decided to make the trip as planned.
Answering his own questions, Lai said Beijing extended an invitation to Lien and promised Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) will meet him in person because the KMT has "a united front value" to Beijing.
He described the entire KMT as "seeming to be on the verge of total derangement" recently, with Lien obstinately determined to go to China while two other vice chairmen -- Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who he said have both been "kidnapped" by Lien's obstinacy -- dare not spell out their platforms on cross-strait issues in the campaign for the election of the KMT chairmanship.
Lai said Lien's insistence on visiting China not only defies the opposition of the Taiwanese people, but also makes the rest of the world wonder whether there is both a president and a "Taiwan chief executive under Beijing."
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