Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said yesterday she had done her duty in promoting the World Games during a trip to China.
Chen told reporters at Kaohsiung City Council that the purpose of her trip was to promote the event and the interests of the residents of Kaohsiung and the people of Taiwan.
“The easiest choice for me would have been to drop the trip, but we need to enhance our visibility if Taiwan wants to to survive in this world and if we want to promote the World Games,” she said.
“As [mayor] of the host city, I’ve fulfilled my duty to welcome the states participating in the Games,” she said.
Chen said she would work to ensure the safety of all athletes at the Games and would respect all opinions as long as they are expressed peacefully, adding that she would not tolerate any violence.
Chen, who left for Beijing on Thursday, returned on Sunday night to cheers from her supporters and protests from a number of pro-independence groups unhappy with her trip.
The Taiwan Southern Society, the Taiwan Society Hakka and a number of pro-independence groups that had urged Chen to scrap the trip said they would boycott her re-election bid next year.
A member of “the 908 Taiwan Nation Movement” sitting in seats reserved for the public at the city council yesterday held up two posters criticizing Chen for not stating that Taiwan and China are two different countries while on her trip.
While meeting Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong (郭金龍) last week, Chen mentioned “President Ma Ying-jeou [馬英九] of the central government,” winning praise from politicians across party lines in Taiwan.
Asked yesterday about the resulting criticism from some civic groups, Chen said she respected their opinions because Taiwan is a democracy.
However, she added, “I’m also an independence activist. I was imprisoned for my pro-independence beliefs,” she said.
She declined to comment on whether she thought that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should adjust any of its China policies or that DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should visit China.
Independent Kaohsiung City Councilor Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源) praised Chen at yesterday’s council session and urged her to be “brave” in the face of criticism.
Meanwhile, Chen called on Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), who yesterday said Chen’s trip to China was a “betrayal” of Taiwan, to retract his comment.
“[Yeh’s attendance at] the Wolrd Health Assembly and my [trip to China] are completely different. He should shoulder responsibility for what happened there. I hope he will take back his criticism of me,” Chen said on the sidelines of the session.
Meanwhile, Tsai said the DPP’s engagement with China would focus on universal values such as human rights and democracy and not on political and economic interests.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY RICH CHANG
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS