Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday arrived in Tokyo on a visit to meet with friends and Taiwanese expatriates.
Upon arrival at Haneda Airport, Tsai was greeted by a group of her supporters, Taiwanese Representative to Japan Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) and members of the Japanese media.
Her four-day trip, which she has dubbed a “Taiwan-Japan friendship tour,” is aimed at meeting friends and visiting Taiwanese expatriate communities ahead of next year’s Jan. 16 presidential election, she said in response to questions from Japanese media.
Photo: CNA
Tsai said she also hopes to meet with people in Japan who are familiar with the nation’s efforts to cope with the challenges of globalization and to talk with leaders in the industrial sector about possible cooperation in economic and industrial areas.
Given the opportunity, Tsai said she would also like to exchange ideas with members of Japan’s two main political parties and others in the political arena.
Tsai is leading by a wide margin in public opinion polls and is seen in some quarters as poised to become the nation’s first female president.
Regarding reports that the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) upper echelon has discussed with its presidential candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), growing calls for Hung to drop out of the race due to her low level of support, Tsai said that it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the matter, as it is a KMT internal issue.
However, she added that “what people want to see is a stable political party and a reliable team, and what Taiwanese have seen recently is that the DPP is a stable political party and a reliable team.”
Additional reporting by Su Fang-ho
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS