Demonstrators in favor of unification with China rallied in Taipei City yesterday against referendums for Taiwan's membership in the UN initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The rally was organized by approximately 20 leftist and pro-unification groups including the Alliance for Reunification with China, the China Tide Association, Labor Rights Association and the Labor Party.
"We're opposed to referendums initiated by both the pan-green and pan-blue camps for Taiwan's membership in the UN because we're already a UN member," Labor Rights Association president Wang Chuan-ping (王娟萍) said.
"China has always been a UN member. It's just that the UN seat was transferred to the People's Republic of China in the 1971," she said. "So the point should be who represents China."
Chen Fu-yu (陳福裕), vice-chairman of the China Tide Association, told the crowd that "The ultimate purpose of the DPP UN membership referendum ... is to obtain independence for Taiwan."
"The only guarantee to cross-strait peace is insisting on the `status quo' that both Taiwan and mainland [China] belong to one China," he said.
"The status quo should be maintained -- no Taiwan independence, no referendum, no return to the UN," said Liang Chien-hua (
Others said they opposed President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) more than the UN bid.
"I'm against corruption. Chen Shui-bian should step down and be jailed. Jailing Chen is the only way to Taiwan's salvation," A demonstrator said.
The Taipei Police Department estimated 12,000 people were at the rally.
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
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
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
RSS