Visiting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) on Saturday panned a "cross-strait common market" concept advocated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate as "ridiculously unrealistic."
In a speech to a group of Taiwanese expatriates from the greater New York area, Hsieh said he firmly opposed the cross-strait common market mechanism being advocated, adding that if the common market were to be implemented, Chinese women -- known to have been smuggled into Taiwan by human traffickers largely to work in the underground sex trade -- would no longer need to be smuggled into Taiwan as illegal immigrants.
Noting that the gulf between the two sides in various sectors is too wide to bridge, Hsieh said that with problems regarding foreign laborers working in Taiwan already hard to handle, Taiwan's government and people would find themselves facing an even bigger headache should workers from China be introduced into Taiwan under a "common market" system.
Addressing the issue of whether he would choose former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) or former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) as his running mate for next year's presidential race, Hsieh said he is remaining open-minded and would not make a subjective decision based on his personal feelings.
Hsieh said he would do all he could, including asking repeatedly after first being turned down, to win the consent of his chosen future running mate in order to enable the DPP to win the election.
Meanwhile, Hsieh called for all Taiwanese expatriates in the US to return to Taiwan to cast their votes for the DPP next March or at least make telephone calls to help broaden the DPP's support base, because Taiwan could not afford to allow "the corrupt" KMT to return to power.
Accompanied by 14 DPP legislators, Hsieh arrived in New York on Friday, starting a 10-day visit which will also take him to Washington, Detroit and Los Angeles.
On Saturday afternoon, Hsieh joined DPP legislators Hsiao Pi-khim (蕭美琴) and Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) to watch a Yankees baseball game.
Hsieh said if he was elected president, he would invite the New York Yankees to Taiwan to play some friendly baseball games with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Hsieh was scheduled to travel to Washington yesterday, where he would address the National Press Club on "mutualism and Taiwan's national security agenda" and give a speech on Capitol Hill on "American values and Taiwan's existence."
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man