Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) yesterday shrugged off Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) concerns that Taiwan would be left stranded in the event of a cross-strait conflict, saying that there is no such problem.
Lin made the remarks on the sidelines of an international law forum on South China Sea disputes at Soochow University in Taipei, which was attended by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and dozens of academics.
“There is no such problem. We will do our utmost to [promote Taiwan’s] international status,” Lin said when asked to comment on remarks Lee made in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Mar. 29 during a visit to the US, the transcript of which was shared by the prime minister on Facebook on Wednesday.
Lin said Ma has endeavored to promote Taiwan’s roles as a peacemaker and a provider of humanitarian aid in the international arena and to assuage tensions in the South China Sea.
“All of these are positive developments,” said Lin, who has been at the center of media attention in the past few days following Kenya’s forced deportation of 45 Taiwanese to Beijing on Friday last week and on Tuesday.
The incident has fueled anti-China sentiment in Taiwan and raised concerns that it could cause cross-strait ties to run aground.
In the lengthy interview, Lee expressed hope that progress made across the Taiwan Strait under the Ma administration would be maintained and broadened by the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
However, Lee voiced concern over the growing consciousness of a Taiwanese identity in recent years, which he said could constrain what any Taiwanese leader would be able to.
“At the same time, I think Taiwanese fully understand that if they collide with China, they will be on their own,” said Lee, who reportedly played a facilitating role in the meeting between Ma and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Singapore in November last year.
Lee said that should Taiwan opt for independence, it would not have the support of the US.
“At least the previous [US] administrations made their position very clear,” he added.
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