The Presidential Office yesterday rebutted former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) argument that the disputed Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) do not belong to Taiwan, saying it is an unquestionable fact that the Republic of China (ROC) holds sovereignty over the archipelago.
“Any remarks denying our sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands constitute an act of humiliating the nation and forfeiting its sovereignty. They will not be accepted by the ROC government, nor its people,” Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said.
Chen said it has been the government’s consistent stance that the Diaoyutai Islands have been an inherent part of the ROC since 1683.
“Our claims of sovereignty over the islands are based solidly on their location, geological composition, relevant historical evidence and international law, and are therefore cannot be disputed,” Chen said.
Chen was referring to Lee’s remarks in his latest book, titled Last Days: My Life’s Journey and the Roadmap of Taiwan’s Democratization, in which he wrote: “The Diaoyutai archipelago not being a part of Taiwan’s territory is an indubitable fact.”
“Those politicians who have blindly followed others and claimed the islands as belonging to Taiwan are just ignorant and lacking in common sense,” Lee wrote in the book, which was released on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to express her stance on Lee’s claims in his book that “cross-strait relations are between two nations.”
“From the beginning of her presidential campaign to now, Tsai has failed to explain her cross-strait policies and has been evasive on issues regarding the ROC’s national identity,” KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said in a news release.
Lin said the public might have been willing to put up with Tsai’s ambiguous attitude and empty rhetoric before the elections, but as the nation’s next head of state, she is now obligated to let the public know her real thoughts.
Tsai was believed to be a champion of Lee’s “special state-to-state” theory, as she was a key figure at the National Security Council when the former president tendered the idea in 1999, Lin said.
“Now that Tsai has been elected president and the DPP is set to gain complete control over the nation, there is no longer room for Tsai’s position to remain oblique and for her to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to the issue,” Lin said.
The president-elect should take the opportunity to assuage the public’s concerns by elucidating her cross-strait policy and stance on Taiwan’s national identity, Lin added.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
RSS