Supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have been advised to be tolerant and to give the Republic of China (ROC) “more space” in acknowledging that the “ROC is Taiwan and Taiwan is [the] ROC,” former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said on Friday night in New York.
The former DPP presidential candidate made the remark in a speech at the Taiwan Center in Flushing, New York, the last public appearance of her two-week “thank-you” tour of the US, a press release provided by Tsai’s office stated.
DPP supporters should be tolerant of the ROC because “the sovereignty of this country remains within the hands of the Taiwanese, regardless of what its name is,” said Tsai, who arrived in New York after stops at Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Tsai, who lost her bid to head the country in the January presidential election, said the DPP should prepare itself and be ready to govern “from the first minute it returns to power” because Taiwan’s national development has been in crisis since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office, adding that there was no time to waste.
Speaking to more than 300 Taiwanese-Americans, Tsai said a stagnant economy, perilous government finances and under-fire democratic development are the three biggest crises currently confronting Taiwan.
“What we should be talking about now is not how to win the 2016 election, but what we should be doing for the good of this country and its people,” she said.
Highlighting the challenges to democracy in Taiwan, Tsai said that interference from third parties as well as unfair political structures and a sluggish economy pose major challenges to the country.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Beijing agreed upon, had played a pivotal role — allowing China to threaten Taiwan economically and allowing it to interfere in Taiwanese politics — in the outcome of January’s presidential election, she said.
The consolidation of Taiwan’s democracy as a result is important for Taiwanese because it would ensure they continue to enjoy free elections and the power to make decisions of their own free will, she said.
Tsai wished the Taiwanese-American community the best of luck after Hurricane Sandy hit vast swathes of New York, causing scores of deaths.
Tsai is scheduled to continue on a personal leg of her journey and is set to visit relatives and classmates in the US, her office said in a statement.
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
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