Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday disapproved of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) strategy to suggest the leaders’ meeting in the APEC forum as an occasion to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Whether Taiwan’s president is able to be present at an APEC summit is not only contingent on China, but also on a decision by all APEC members, Lee said.
Lee made the remarks in Taipei yesterday in response to reporters’ questions about the possibility that Ma might meet with Xi at this year’s APEC summit to be hosted in Beijing.
Photo: CNA
Since APEC began to hold its informal leaders’ meeting in 1993, Taiwan has never sent its president to the summit, instead sending representatives to act as envoys.
Lee said he perceived it to be more important that Taiwan focuses on raising its economic stature so that all APEC members would invite Taiwan’s president to attend APEC summit rather than focusing on China’s opposition to a Taiwanese leader’s participation.
Meanwhile, Lee again addressed the rumor that he had sought to meet with then-Chinese president Jiang Zemin (江澤民) at sea when he was president.
The idea of him meeting with Jiang was suggested by Evergreen Group founder Chang Yung-fa (張榮發), who said that such a meeting could take place on an Evergreen ship because the group was planning to build a wharf as its base in China, Lee said.
Lee said he rejected Chang’s idea to his face, partly because Chang’s motivation was to make more profits for Evergreen Group in China and partly because Jiang, responsible for firing missiles off Taiwan’s coast in 1995 and 1996 (known as the Taiwan Strait missile crisis) had “never been nice to Taiwan.”
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The US Department of State on Monday reaffirmed that US policy on Taiwan remains unchanged, following US President Donald Trump’s use of the term “unification” while commenting on recent trade talks with China. Speaking at a wide-ranging press conference, Trump described what he viewed as progress in trade negotiations with China held in Geneva, Switzerland, over the weekend. “They’ve agreed to open China — fully open China, and I think it’s going to be fantastic for China. I think it’s going to be fantastic for us,” Trump said. “I think it’s going to be great for unification and peace.” Trump’s use of the
RSS