Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators reacted to violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators in Hong Kong by yesterday calling on the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government to suspend talks with China.
TSU caucus whip Lai Zhen-chang (賴振昌) said that China has broken the promises it gave to Tibet in the 17-Point Peace Agreement signed in 1951 and those given to Hong Kong — that it would be allowed autonomy for at least 50 years — prior to China’s takeover of the territory in 1997.
“This shows that any agreements signed with China are meaningless,” he said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
TSU Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said that as Taiwan and Hong Kong have between 40 and 50 percent dependency on foreign trade, “We should learn the lesson from Hong Kong on what might happen when we are economically overdependent on China.”
“The TSU condemns Hong Kong police for violence against student protesters and we voice our support for Hong Kong’s campaign for democracy,” she added. “We also call on the government to learn from Hong Kong and suspend the signing of any agreements with China.”
Separately, voicing their support for the pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday said they would propose a resolution against China’s “one country, two systems” framework.
“The DPP caucus strongly condemns violent crackdowns and any acts against democracy,” DPP caucus whip Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a news conference at the caucus office yesterday. “The caucus will also propose a resolution to show our concerns for the democratic movement in Hong Kong, as well as our objection to the ‘one country, two systems’ scheme.”
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that what is happening in Hong Kong is a lesson for Taiwan.
“I felt saddened last night when I saw a picture on the Internet of a man holding a placard that read: ‘I am Hong Kongese; I would like to urge all Taiwanese to stand on our corpses and think about your future,’” he said. “The crackdown in Hong Kong teaches the lesson that ‘one country, two systems’ is only a big lie. No matter which political party you support, all Taiwanese should show support for Hong Kong’s democracy [movement].”
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
RSS