Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), Deputy head of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) policy think tank, accompanied by several female politicians from the DPP, led a delegation to Myanmar to visit democratic movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday.
The delegation included Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), DPP legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), Taiwan Foundation for Democracy deputy head Yang Huang Maysing (楊黃美幸) and special assistant Chang Hsiang-hui (張祥慧).
Aung San Suu Kyi, the third child and only daughter of Aung San, who founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma’s (now known as Myanmar) independence from the UK in 1947, had been kept under house arrest off and on since 1988, when the National League for Democracy (NLD) gained 80 percent of parliamentary seats in a general election called by the military junta, who later refused to hand over power.
Photo: AFP / DPP
Hsiao said the DPP delegation had encountered difficulties before meeting Aung San Suu Kyi, as she was still under surveillance by the Burmese government.
During their one-hour meeting, they exchanged views and opinions on democratization in Myanmar, the economic sanctions imposed on Myanmar by the international community and the current international situation.
The DPP delegation also shared with the Nobel laureate the experiences of Taiwan’s democratization and the challenges it faced.
On the subject of challenges facing Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi said that aside from the challenge of politics, local society also faced challenges such as a lack of job opportunities and soaring inflation.
The current mission of the NLD is to help the people of Myanmar get education and assist disaster-stricken families, Aung San Suu Kyi said, adding that the NLD would also help with legal inquiries.
Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed the visit by the DPP delegation, saying she was thrilled to see the extraordinary performance of women in Taiwanese politics and she also extended her best wishes to DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Hsiao said the spirit of Aung San Suu Kyi and the readiness of senior NLD members to sacrifice themselves for the -democratization of Myanmar was impressive.
The DPP would continue to fight for Taiwan’s democracy and liberty, and would share Taiwan’s experiences of democracy with other countries fighting for democracy, promoting democratic and humanitarian values worldwide, Hsiao said.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS