Political activist Yen Ming-wei (顏銘緯) and academics yesterday lashed out at what they called the China-leaning statements President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has made during recent interviews with foreign media outlets, while calling on Taiwanese to refrain from going down the same mistaken path as Hong Kong.
“Poor Taiwan, so far away from God and so close to China,” Yen said at a news conference in Taipei organized by the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
He revised a quote often attributed to former Mexican president Porfirio Diaz: “Poor Mexico, so far way from God and so close to the US.”
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“However we choose to interact with China, we should not forget that we should always insist on Taiwan’s sovereignty,” said Yen, a freshman at National Sun Yat-sen University and director of Greater Kaohsiung-based activist group Flanc Radical’s electoral campaign in the municipality.
Turning to the incident on Friday last week in which he reportedly hurled a book at Ma as the latter was leaving a public event in Taipei, Yen said that he threw it not because he wanted to hurt the president, but because he is becoming increasingly anxious about the nation’s future, as Ma seems to be “selling Taiwan out to China with all his China-leaning policies, remarks and actions.”
“I wanted to remind him about Taiwan’s status as a sovereign state, which is also the message that the book Formosa Betrayed conveys,” Yen said of the book he threw.
National Cheng Kung University political science professor Leung Man-to (梁文韜) said that while the president continuously reiterates a position that the so-called “status quo” between Taiwan and China should be maintained, “his policies and actions show otherwise.”
“We simply cannot trust the Ma government,” he said.
A Hong Kong native, Leung said that Taiwan is now traveling on the same path as Hong Kong and might end up in the same political trouble as the territory faces today.
“We should learn a lesson from Hong Kong,” Leung said.
Aletheia University professor Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) shared Leung’s view.
“I have known many friends from Hong Kong for more than 20 years and they are all opposed to Taiwanese independence,” Chen said. “But after what happened yesterday [Sunday], they have probably realized why Taiwanese want to be independent.”
Chen said that the “one country, two systems” framework proposed by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) was originally designed for “unification” with Taiwan, but was first put into practice in Hong Kong.
“Obviously, that framework has now failed and we should seriously think about whether we [Taiwan] want to follow in Hong Kong’s footsteps,” he said.
Taiwan's Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Saturday that she would not be intimidated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), following reports that Chinese agents planned to ram her car during a visit to the Czech Republic last year. "I had a great visit to Prague & thank the Czech authorities for their hospitality & ensuring my safety," Hsiao said on social media platform X. "The CCP's unlawful activities will NOT intimidate me from voicing Taiwan's interests in the international community," she wrote. Hsiao visited the Czech Republic on March 18 last year as vice president-elect and met with Czech Senate leadership, including
There have been clear signs of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attempts to interfere in the nationwide recall vote on July 26 in support of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators facing recall, an unnamed government official said, warning about possible further actions. The CCP is actively involved in Taiwanese politics, and interference in the recall vote is to be expected, with multiple Chinese state media and TAO attempts to discredit the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and undermine public support of their recall movement, the official said. This interference includes a smear campaign initiated this month by a pro-Beijing Hong Kong news outlet against
A week-long exhibition on modern Tibetan history and the Dalai Lama’s global advocacy opened yesterday in Taipei, featuring quotes and artworks highlighting human rights and China’s ongoing repression of Tibetans, Hong Kongers and Uighurs. The exhibition, the first organized by the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), is titled “From the Snowy Ridges to the Ocean of Wisdom.” “It would be impossible for Tibetans inside Tibet to hold an exhibition like this — we can do it. because we live in a free and democratic country,” HRNTT secretary-general Tashi Tsering said. Tashi Tsering, a Taiwan-based Tibetan who has never
A first shipment of five tons of Taiwan tilapia was sent from Tainan to Singapore on Wednesday, following an order valued at NT$600,000 (US$20,500) placed with a company in the city. The products, including frozen whole fish and pre- cooked fish belly, were dispatched from Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, where a new aquatic processing and logistics center is under construction. At the launch, Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) called the move a “breakthrough,” marking Taiwan’s expansion into the Singaporean tilapia market. Taiwan’s tilapia exports have traditionally focused on the United States, Canada, and the Middle East, Huang said, adding that the new foothold in
RSS