Following the summit between the leaders of North and South Korea, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that he would not sacrifice the interests of the Taiwanese people by accepting Beijing's terms in exchange for a hand-shake with his Chinese counterpart and a Nobel peace prize.
Chen said that he does not need to go on a pilgrimage to China because there are many hands in Taiwan he needs to shake. Nor does he need a Nobel peace prize because peace in the Taiwan Strait is more important than such a honor.
"If South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea's Kim Jong-il can, so can Chen Shui-bian," he said.
"Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
Chen said he was not prepared to accept Beijing's "one China" policy and theory of unification because they run counter to his beliefs. Nor does he think a majority of Taiwanese would want to see him to do that, he said.
As national leader, Chen said, he cannot be so selfish and greedy to think only about his own interests because his most important mission is to protect Taiwan or else he would be judged by history as a wrongdoer.
Chen made the remarks in a speech to members of District 3490 of the Rotary International Taiwan at the Ambassador Hotel in Taipei yesterday morning.
Chen said that there is no such thing as "one China with each side's individual interpretations" and the so-called "1992 consensus" does not exist.
They are lies cooked up by the former KMT regime to deceive the people of Taiwan and the international community, Chen said.
The "cross-strait common market" proposed by former premier and KMT vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (
Taiwan will surrender to the authoritarian regime if the government accepts the precondition that Taiwan is part of China, he said.
Chen said that making money is important, but national sovereignty and security must be upheld in addition to the dignity and interests of the nation.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS