Taiwan Association of University Professors president Lu Chung-chin (呂忠津) said it was extremely inappropriate for one side in a negotiating party to have a direct role in the way its counterpart’s negotiaions are conducted, referring to China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming’s (陳德銘) meeting with Taiwanese media executives on Wednesday to talk about the nation’s “risk of being marginalized in global integration” if trade agreements with China are not signed.
The association held a press conference yesterday responding to Chen’s coining of the phrase “moonflower” and “China’s economic annexation strategy in the post-Ma [Ying-jeou] era.”
Regarding Chen visiting and meeting with the country’s print, TV and online media, Lu said that while the KMT’s defeat in last month’s nine-in-one elections signified a vote of no confidence in President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) pro-China policies, Beijing has not been deterred from carrying out its agenda and has continued to “seek direct intervention in and control of Taiwan.”
Black Island National Youth spokesperson Lai Pin-yu (賴品妤) criticized Chen’s remarks about Taiwan becoming marginalized and called it a tactic that had been proved ineffective by the KMT’s poor showing in the elections.
She also panned the government for “spanking their own children to show [their strictness] in front of outsiders,” referring to the indictment of eight of the group’s members, including her, on charges of obstructing pedestrian traffic on Thursday near the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
The students tried to block the street used by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) when he was visiting New Taipei City in June.
Chen Hui-min (陳惠敏), an assistant professor at National Taiwan University’s Department of Sociology and a founding member of the Taiwan March, said Chinese authorities’ grasp of Taiwan’s current state has exceeded expectations.
“They have delved into the understanding of Taiwan’s local factions, and now probably know them better than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).”
“Many mayors and township representatives have been invited to China for meetings or to visit. The reason why Chinese delegates’ trips to Taiwan are getting smoother and smoother is not because Taiwanese have been slack in their vigilance, but because more and more local factions have been bought by China,” he added.
Lo Cheng-chung (羅承宗), an assistant professor at Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Institute of Financial and Economic Law, said Chen Deming’s “Moonflower” was an “inspiration” to Taiwan’s people.
“While the negotiations of the trade pact are ongoing in Beijing,” it is certainly possible for a “moonflower” movement to be created if the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continue the “forced passage of any agreement that would destroy Taiwan’s economic safety.”
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
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