Members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday staged an egg-tossing demonstration outside the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) building in Taipei, protesting the council’s acceptance of China’s decision to start using the controversial M503 flight route and urging the council to suspend cross-strait talks.
In the rain, protesters mobilized by the TSU held up signs accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and MAC Minister Andrew Hsia (夏立言) of treason.
Participants said they were protesting what they called the government’s “soft” reaction to China’s decision to use the M503 flight route.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“The stormy weather is a good representation of the situation that Taiwan currently faces,” TSU Department of Organization director Tsai Feng-wen (蔡豐文) said. “Ma’s government not only silently agreed to China’s unilateral designation of the M503 air route despite its threat to Taiwan’s national security, but it even consented to China’s decision to inaugurate the flight route on Sunday.”
Tsai said the middle line in the Taiwan Strait is the de facto boundary between Taiwan and China, but the council is unable to do anything when China threatens the boundary.
“The MAC therefore deserves to be called the traitors’ council,” Tsai said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He was referring to a commercial air route that runs close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait that China unilaterally designated in January.
Triggering a strong reaction from opposition parties and the public, the council protested to China, which responded by saying it would move the air route to the west by 6 nautical miles (11km) and postpone bringing it into service.
Although Hsia told the Legislative Yuan that he was not satisfied with China’s decision, when China announced that it would begin using the flight route last week, the council said that it had been informed of the final decision and that it consented to it.
TSU Department of Youth Affairs director Chang Chao-lin (張兆林) said the government’s consent to China’s decision shows that its earlier remarks that it would negotiate further with China on the issue were lies.
“The people of Taiwan will not accept the inauguration of the M503 route. The TSU strongly demands that the MAC decline to accept such a humiliating decision and ask China to void the flight route,” Chang said. “Until China removes the flight route, all cross-strait talks should be suspended.”
After asking that Hsia come out to meet with them and receive the group’s petition, the crowd threw eggs at the council building when a low-ranking official with no authority to answer questions or make decisions was sent instead.
Minor clashes between police officers and the protesters followed.
Chang was later arrested for taking the lead in tossing the eggs.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS