Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman and leader of the anti-Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaign Shih Ming-teh (施明德) met United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) chairman Robert Tsao (曹興誠) on Ketagalan Boulevard yesterday, calling for a peaceful cross-strait coexistence.
The two discussed cross-strait relations and the nation's development during an outdoor forum held by the Home Party, which was formed last month by leaders of the demonstrations against Chen last year.
The establishment of the political party follows Shih's previous promise that his anti-Chen campaign would not form a political party nor recommend people to run in the legislative elections.
Shih last night compared Tsao with South Korean president-elect Lee Myung-bak, a former CEO of Hyundai Construction and Engineering, suggesting it would be better for an entrepreneur to lead the nation.
"The combination of two politicians only produces more politicians. Having entrepreneurs join the political stage would change the political environment for the better," Shih said.
"Both [DPP presidential candidate Frank] Hsieh (謝長廷) and [Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate] Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) compared themselves to Lee Myung-bak. I think Taiwan's Lee Myung-bak should be Mr Tsao," he said.
Tsao had no comment on that suggestion. But he reiterated his support for drafting a law that would provide a basis for peaceful cross-strait coexistence and safeguard Taiwan's democracy.
Tsao said the proposed law would resolve the cross-strait issue and end the political wrangling over independence versus unification, while ruling out a referendum on independence -- because that would be contrary to the nation's claim that it is already an independent and sovereign state.
Tsao earlier this month ran front-page ads in local newspapers suggesting that Hsieh and Ma work together to draft the law.
The ads sparked heated debate, with Chen slamming the idea as tantamount to capitulation to China.
Taipei on Thursday held urban resilience air raid drills, with residents in one of the exercises’ three “key verification zones” reporting little to no difference compared with previous years, despite government pledges of stricter enforcement. Formerly known as the Wanan exercise, the air raid drills, which concluded yesterday, are now part of the “Urban Resilience Exercise,” which also incorporates the Minan disaster prevention and rescue exercise. In Taipei, the designated key verification zones — where the government said more stringent measures would be enforced — were Songshan (松山), Zhongshan (中山) and Zhongzheng (中正) districts. Air raid sirens sounded at 1:30pm, signaling the
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
The number of people who reported a same-sex spouse on their income tax increased 1.5-fold from 2020 to 2023, while the overall proportion of taxpayers reporting a spouse decreased by 4.4 percent from 2014 to 2023, Ministry of Finance data showed yesterday. The number of people reporting a spouse on their income tax trended upward from 2014 to 2019, the Department of Statistics said. However, the number decreased in 2020 and 2021, likely due to a drop in marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic and the income of some households falling below the taxable threshold, it said. The number of spousal tax filings rebounded
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS