President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the remarks in a two-hour interview with SET last night.
"The US wanted me to use my influence as the president to stop [the DPP's push for] the proposed referendum," he said.
Saying that a number of polls had indicated that the majority of Taiwanese voters were in favor of holding the referendum, Chen said he could not go against the public opinion, which is what he told the US.
"The US is Taiwan's good friend and Taiwan is a loyal ally of the US...but we need to safeguard Taiwan's interests as well, which revolve around the continuation and pursuit of democracy and exercising universal human rights," he said.
When asked what the result of his refusal to accede to the US' wishes might be, Chen gave an indirect response, saying that if Taiwan wanted China to be happy, "we might as well surrender."
"But when I told [the US] that, the US said `no,'" he said.
Chen said that he had told the US that, Taiwan might as well scrap its defense and foreign affairs and let Taiwan "become part of the People's Republic of China."
"But the US told me `no,' too," Chen said.
When asked whether he was trying to change the name of the country officially from Republic of China (ROC) to Taiwan, Chen said the UN bid had nothing to do with it.
"At least 40 percent of UN members are not using their official country names when participating in the UN. Our official name is still ROC, but we are trying to join the UN with a shorter name. That is all," Chen said.
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
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
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
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
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