The Government Information Office (GIO) announced a torch relay will begin on Oct. 24 as part of the government's efforts to push for the nation's UN membership bid.
GIO Minister Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would lead the relay, which will kick off in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard at 7am.
Shieh said that Oct. 24 is of historic importance as it is the day the UN Charter went into effect, adding that Oct. 25 is the day the Republic of China (ROC) left the UN.
PHOTO: CNA
"We would like to use the occasion to lodge a protest against the UN, which trumpets universal participation, and send a clear message to the world that the people of Taiwan want [their country] to become a member of the international body," he said.
Shieh said the 11-day event will be open to all political parties, ethnic groups and people of all ages, adding he hoped it would attract 100,000 participants.
Organizers said 17 athletes and celebrities will carry the torch through 25 counties and cities, including Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu.
Shieh welcomed the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to participate in the event.
He said the administration had every legitimate reason to use public money to finance the UN membership bid because the bid is a government policy.
"We will continue the initiative until Taiwan enters the United Nations," he said.
Shieh said the Oct. 24 event will cost an estimated NT$10 million (US$306,000) and that the budget would come from the Sports Affairs Council. He dismissed allegations that the Ministry of Finance had financed the UN campaign.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS