Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) president Mark Kao (高龍榮) on Friday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for “surreptitiously moving Taiwan towards closer political linkages with China.”
In a strongly worded statement, Kao said that FAPA and 31 other Taiwanese-American organizations wrote to Ma last month about the renaming of the Overseas Compatriots Affairs Commission (OCAC) and they had received “no adequate response.”
Kao said he was “deeply concerned” about the direction in which Ma was taking Taiwan, adding that Ma was pushing Taiwan into “unwelcome closer economic integration” with China.
Kao said that under Ma, Taiwan had experienced “an erosion of the judicial and democratic institutions.”
He said changing the name of the OCAC to the Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission without any consultation with the Legislative Yuan or overseas organizations was “stepping back into the dark days of Martial Law.”
Kao objected to inclusion of the word “Chinese” in the new name and said that an appropriate new name might be the Overseas Taiwanese Affairs Council.
By not responding to the original letter sent by the organizations, Kao said Ma had shown “disdain” for democracy.
“We urge the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan to let its voice be heard and make it clear to the Taiwan government that its actions are not in line with international democratic principles and practices,” he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it