The Chinese government said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (
An unnamed spokesman from Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office also reiterated that China would never allow Taiwan to formally break away, the People's Daily reported.
"Chen intends to unreasonably restrict cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, worsen the atmosphere of cross-strait relations, and ruin the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait ties," the spokesman was quoted as saying.
"We will be highly vigilant to any secessionist moves and never allow secessionists to separate Taiwan from the motherland in any name or by any way," he said.
Chen said on Monday in a New Year's message that the nation's sovereignty lay in its own hands.
"Hereby we must stress that Taiwan is our country. Taiwan's sovereignty belongs to 23 million people. It definitely does not belong to the People's Republic of China," Chen said after a national flag-hoisting ceremony.
"Only the 23 million have the right to decide on the future of Taiwan. Taiwan is part of the world but not part of China," he said.
His remarks came after China issued a key defense paper arguing it needs a strong and credible military and citing security challenges it said it cannot ignore, such as Taiwan's independence drive.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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