The US government did not request an early look at President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) New Year address, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (
She added that Chen was not obliged to show his New Year address to the US government for approval.
"As we have done in the past, we will inform the US government of the general content of the president's New Year address," Liu said. "However, we don't have the obligation to let them look it over."
Press report
Liu was responding to a report that was published in yesterday's Chinese-language Apple Daily.
The report said that Young had personally requested Presidential Office Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) for permission to preview the draft of the president's New Year address because he was worried that it "might cause trouble," particularly the section touching on constitutional reform.
The report said that Young made the request before he returned to the US for the Christmas holidays.
Mark Chen had intended to present Young with an outline of the draft, but Young was unhappy with the answer, the report said.
The report said that Young then complained to President Chen.
Arms package
As the US government has been supportive of the long-stalled arms procurement package, the report said that Young thought President Chen should at least have responded to US concerns about the "Second Republic" constitution proposed by former presidential advisor Koo Kwang-ming (
Liu yesterday said that interactions between Taiwan and the US have conformed and will continue to conform to diplomatic protocol.
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,”
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
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS