The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said that remarks made by former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) chairman Richard Bush on the sidelines of a closed-door seminar between KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) and dozens of US academics in Washington on Friday was suggestive of US support for the KMT chairman.
KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said Bush’s remarks that the US valued the cross-strait developments under President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration since 2008 and that it would like to see it continued was what the US had been wanting to say, but could not.
“This bodes ill for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as in the US’ mind, the KMT and the DPP have already been graded based on their cross-strait policies,” Lin said.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Lin said Bush’s remark that “What people say during elections might vastly differ from what they say after becoming policymakers. To me, that is where the problems lie,” was disguised criticism of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and the DPP’s cross-strait policies.
KMT Lawmaker Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said that DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) claimed her objective for cross-strait ties is to maintain the “status quo,” but she has refused to explain her methods for achieving that goal.
“Bush has publicly challenged Tsai Ing-wen’s ‘status quo’ policy. What would the consequences be if the DPP chairperson pursues a cross-strait policy different from that of Ma? She has yet to comment on that issue,” he said.
Chu arrived back in Taiwan early yesterday after a week-long visit to the US as part of his presidential campaign.
He left Taiwan on Tuesday last week for meetings with US officials, including Deputy US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and academics, as well as Taiwanese expatriates in Los Angeles, Washington, New York and San Francisco.
Soon after his return, Chu is expected to name his running mate.
A report by the Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday said that the KMT is likely to put Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), a veteran lawmaker and president of the legislature, on the top of the party’s list of legislator-at-large nominees.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘LONE WOLF’: The suspect was difficult to locate, as he did not use a cellphone, did not contact family and often lived in abandoned sites or parks, police said Taipei police on Thursday morning arrested a man accused of numerous burglaries and at least 14 incidents of sexual assault spanning more than 20 years, in what might be the nation’s most notorious crime spree in recent years. Sixty-year-old Tu Ming-lang (涂明朗) — who was yesterday placed in judicial detention, after a judge determined he was a flight risk without a fixed address — faces multiple charges of sexual assault and burglary, police said. A task force comprised of various law enforcement agencies arrested Tu as part of an investigation into an April 28 burglary in Daan District (大安), in which a
Ninth graders were asked to define “trolling” on this year’s standardized exam, reflecting efforts to make the test better reflect real-life situations. Adjustments to this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students were revealed on Sunday, after the last cohort of students completed the test over the weekend. The Ministry of Education solicited feedback about the test from teachers, who approved of the new question in the English portion. Not only was question No. 20 “very much in line with real-life situations,” but it also used a new style in which students were asked to ascertain the correct dictionary definition based
Taiwan is on alert for monkeypox, a rare viral disease that has caused 87 infections in 11 countries over the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday. The WHO on Friday convened an emergency session to discuss a sudden outbreak of monkeypox in North America and Europe. Since the beginning of this month, 87 confirmed cases and 28 possible cases have been identified in 11 countries. The countries with the highest case counts are England with 29 cases, and Portugal and Spain with 23 each. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease occurring primarily in the tropical rainforest areas
ADAPTING: The CECC said the policy change would happen this week at the earliest, while PCR testing stations would be used to diagnose people and prescribe drugs The general public would be able to use a positive rapid test result that has been confirmed by a doctor for COVID-19 diagnosis starting later this week at the soonest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 79,441 new local infections and 53 deaths. The center on Saturday announced that it was expanding the rapid test diagnosis policy to people living in indigenous townships and outlying islands, starting today. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday said the policy might be further expanded to include “all people” this week, at the soonest. He