A group of Taiwanese independence advocates yesterday vowed to follow China’s top negotiator “every step of the way” when he visits Taiwan next week to show their anger in a series of protests.
China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chen Yunlin Chairman (陳雲林) is scheduled to arrive in Taipei on Monday for the sixth round of talks since 2008.
“We will follow him every step of the way,” said Chien Sheng-che (簡聖哲) from “Taiwan Republic,” one of 10 organizations pledging to take part in the demonstrations.
“We want to show him that Taiwan is Taiwan, and China is China. They are two separate countries,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said it has no plans to mobilize supporters to protest during Chen’s visit.
“But we’ll keep a close eye on what agreements are signed, to make sure that no national interest is betrayed,” DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
No police officials were immediately available to comment on the number of officers to be deployed for the coming negotiations.
When Chen visited Taiwan in November 2008, he was confined to his hotel for much of the trip because of street demonstrations outside.
Chen is scheduled to hold talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), on Tuesday and depart the following day.
At the center of the talks will be epidemic control measures and joint research and development of medicines, herbal medicines and emergency treatment.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National