The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it would carefully review the names of a pair of party institutions that handle Chinese affairs without succumbing to pressure from Beijing.
The party made the comments in response to a story published in yesterday’s edition of the Chinese-language Apple Daily, which reported that Beijing had pressured the DPP to drop “China” from the names of two soon-to-be-established departments and use “cross-strait” instead.
In a bid to forge a better understanding of China, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said the party would reinstate the Department of China Affairs and establish a Chinese Affairs Committee, which would include academics, party officials and civic groups.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the party would not necessarily change the name, because “if all the countries in the world call the country China, why can’t Taiwan do the same?”
While some academics did recommend changing the name, Lin said “the DPP did not see this as pressure, nor could Beijing pressure the DPP to change the name.”
Speaking to reporters in Taoyuan County yesterday, Su denied there was any Chinese pressure and said the DPP would stand firm on its position.
Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on the sidelines of an event in Miaoli City that this was not the first time Beijing had pressured the DPP about nomenclature, adding that the party “should stand firm on its position.”
DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the party should be open-minded and pragmatic.
There is no need to change the name of the Department of China Affairs to the Department of Cross-Strait Affairs because the department was reinstated, Lin said.
“The DPP should be open-minded and the terms of China and cross-strait could co-exist since its goal is to increase bilateral engagement. Nomenclature is a secondary issue,” Lin Chia-lung said.
MODERATE TYPHOON: Localized heavy rain is forecast to hit central and southern Taiwan, the CWA said, adding that the storm would likely move away on Saturday A sea warning for Typhoon Saudel, which shifted to a more northerly track as it approached Taiwan, is likely early today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the center of typhoon was about 630km northeast of Taipei, moving west-northwest at 14kph with maximum wind gusts of up to 162kph, CWA data showed. Saudel is a moderate typhoon and is expected to weaken as it nears Taiwan due to atmospheric and ocean conditions, CWA forecaster Lin Po-tung (林伯東) said. A sea warning indicates hazardous typhoon conditions in waters surrounding Taiwan within 24 hours, Lin said. The storm is forecast to
China is urging its citizens to evacuate Eswatini and warning others not to visit the tiny African kingdom over what it said were safety concerns and scamming risks in Taiwan’s last remaining diplomatic partner on the continent. In a post on WeChat, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of Consular Affairs described Eswatini’s security situation as “complex,” with crimes involving online fraud and illegal gambling “rampant” and the public-security and safety risk “extremely high.” “Chinese citizens and institutions currently in the country are urged to evacuate or relocate to relatively safer areas — such as South Africa — as soon as
A Straits Exchange Foundation official today warned that yielding to political pressure in exchange for access to China’s entertainment industry rarely ends well, amid rumors that China is seeking to lure Taiwanese K-pop star Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜). Chou, more commonly known as Tzuyu, is the only Taiwanese member of the girl group Twice. Her contract with JYP Entertainment is set to expire at the end of this year, and there have been widespread reports that she would not renew it. She is reportedly planning to pursue solo activities under her parents’ agency, Yu Hai Entertainment (瑜海娛樂), although China has also reportedly offered
A tropical depression near Hainan that was once Typhoon Saudel may once again strengthen into a tropical storm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, but a sea warning for waters around Taiwan is unlikely. CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said that Saudel would return to being a weak tropical storm by late yesterday or early this morning. However, as the storm is to gradually weaken again and would head toward China’s Guangdong Province away from Taiwan, the chances that it would affect Taiwan enough for the CWA to issue a sea warning are relatively low,
RSS