Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The purpose of all demonstrations is the expression of different opinions, and should not be achieved through violence," he said yesterday when attending a municipal event.
Stressing that Taipei's police department was "fully prepared" to maintain order at the demonstrations, Ma promised police would quash "any non-peaceful acts."
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING,AP
While he declined to confirm whether he would make an appearance at next month's sit-in protest organized by former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Ma is scheduled to give a report in Taichung on the party's "Chen resign" efforts in the middle of next month. The report will review the 1,500 signature drives the party has launched around the country as part of its "Safeguarding Taiwan with no corruption" campaign since its Chen recall motion failed in the legislature in late June.
The KMT says the signature campaign will be completed before Sept. 19, when the legislature reopens after its summer recess.
KMT spokesman Huang Yu-chen (
"But we are encouraging party members to join the sit-in as individuals," he said yesterday at the KMT's headquarters.
Ma and many KMT legislators have donated NT$100 to Shih's sit-in fund.
In related news, media reports said yesterday that Taipei police authorities have refused permission for Shih's sit-in to be held around the clock. The reports said that the Taipei Police Office's Chungcheng Division has only given permission for the Sept. 12-15 sit-in to be staged between the hours of 9am and 10pm, after taking into account traffic requirements and social order.
Asked about the reports, Ho De-fen (賀德芬), spokeswoman for Shih's camp, told the Central News Agency that the campaign organizer has not yet been informed of the reasons why permission for a "24-hour" sit-in from Sept. 11 to Sept. 23 in front of the Presidential Office was denied. She said the organizer would appeal the decision.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
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