President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday reiterated her stance on the issue of sovereignty over the South China Sea, saying that she declined to send an envoy to join President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) visit to Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島) out of respect for the constitutional system, in response to criticism from the president.
Immediately after his return from the one-day trip to the island on Thursday, Ma panned Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) over his remarks that the president should not take a trip to such a sensitive area in such a sensitive time, saying that the DPP is holding him back while he tried to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty over the island, adding that he was surprised that the DPP would not send an envoy.
“We have said several times that the DPP decided not to send anyone on the trip due to the constitutional system, because Ma is still the president and we respect any decision that he makes as president,” Tsai said after journalists asked her for a comment. “We would like to remind the president that he should face serious issues with a serious attitude; the way he commented on the issue is very inappropriate.”
Tsai said that she has not changed her stance on the South China Sea issue that Taiwan has sovereignty over the region, adding that the right to innocent passage whether with planes or ships should be protected.
“The disputes among claimants should be resolved through international laws and conventions,” Tsai said. “Most importantly, the disputes should be solved through peaceful means and all countries in the region, including Taiwan, have a shared responsibility to maintain regional peace and stability.”
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
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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
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