Taiwanese must fully understand that the Beijing authorities' desire to reduce Taiwan to the lowest level of government administration lies at the heart of the possible signing of a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Taiwan through the mediation of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
The CEPA that China has introduced in Hong Kong and Macao eliminates import taxes on farm goods and other products from these two places.
"The CEPA is a sweet dessert from Beijing to both Hong Kong and Macao. Now China wants to offer this `gift' to Taiwan through Lien Chan in a bid to send a clear message to Taiwanese people that, in its eyes, the status of Taiwan equals that of Hong Kong and Macau; they are all its local jurisdictions," Lu said.
PHOTO: TAIPEI TIMES
"Do all [Taiwan's] 23 million people accept this? If we take this small piece of sweet dessert, we might inadvertently create a `big cake' [of opportunities] for China," she said.
"Taiwan can't be and refuses to be downgraded," she said.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday urged the government to point out that Lien would be in violation of the law if he signs any form of agreement with China.
"Lien Chan has not been legally authorized to sign any pact with China," TSU Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (
Chen said that Lien should promote Taiwan's democracy and liberty in China than "let Communism destroy the Three Principles of the People."
Chen said that China released several political dissidents because of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit.
"We strongly urge Lien Chan to ask China to improve its bad human-rights record by releasing more political dissidents," Chen said.
He said that the TSU had no comment on Lien's visit to his ancestral home in China.
"However, Lien should never sacrifice the Taiwanese people's common interests," Chen said.
He said that after Lien returns to Taiwan, the TSU would never let him abuse his influence in the Legislative Yuan to promote any agreement he signed with China.
"Please stop dreaming of turning Taiwan's Legislative Yuan into China's legislative bureau," Chen 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 first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
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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