President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) stance on trips by opposition leaders to China is consistent and has not wavered as his critics claim, Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday.
"President Chen's attitude toward the opposition leaders' China trips has been consistent. It's just that he expresses different points at different times when he speaks on these issues -- sometimes more tactically while some other times more straightforward," Yu said during a media conference yesterday.
Reporters had asked Yu why Chen had attacked the trip to China by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (江丙坤) while giving KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) China trip his blessing.
Yu said that the government's position has also been clear and consistent in regard to next week's visit to China by People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Media reports have speculated that Washington has placed pressure on the Chen administration to reduce criticism of the trips.
In response to a question on the Presidential Office's communication with the US, Yu said Taiwan and the US had not raised their level or frequency of dialogue over the visits.
"According to my understanding, the president has not met with American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Douglas Paal for talks on the visits," Yu said.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Ma Yung-cheng (
Comparing national policy to driving a car, Ma said, "The car might sometimes lean a little to the left or to the right, but it never leaves the road. It just makes adjustments according to the traffic lights -- which are the national interest and public opinion."
Ma said the law clearly prevented opposition leaders from signing any agreements or reaching any type of oral accord with the other side of the Taiwan Strait on issues relating to national sovereignty without the consent or authorization of the government.
Asked for comment on Tuesday's clashes between pan-green and pan-blue camp supporters at CKS International Airport, Yu said the Presidential Office supported the Cabinet in its handling of the matter.
"The Presidential Office supports the Cabinet's decisions in the aftermath of the incident," he said, referring to Premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) pledge on Tuesday to bring the troublemakers to justice.
"It is regrettable that such a thing happened," he said.
Stating that the violence was the result of long-time confrontation between the rival camps, Yu said, "this is the very reason that President Chen has been promoting reconciliation between the two camps to try to bring an end to their confrontation."
Ma said that the reconciliation process was a difficult one.
"It is impossible for political parties that have been in confrontation with each other for the past four years to all of a sudden [solve their differences] ... in four days," he said.
"It takes time, wisdom and patience to address the rivalry and restore mutual trust between the camps," he said.
"Only time can restore the mutual trust that has been lacking between the ruling and opposition parties in the past years. Only time can prove whether or not both sides are sincere," Ma added, suggesting that both sides sit down for talks to seek a resolution, and that "it does not help to put the blame on either side."
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
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BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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