Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) yesterday demanded that the Taipei City Government cancel the annual Taipei-Shanghai Forum, saying that China has become increasingly blatant in its united front tactics aimed at infiltrating Taiwan since last year.
During a city council question-and-answer session with Taipei City Government Secretary-General Su Li-chung (蘇麗瓊) and Taipei Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Lan Shih-tsung (藍世聰), Wang showed several photographs taken last year at a meeting between former Zhongshan District (中山) Office director Lin Ping-tsung (林秉宗) and Shanghai’s Minxin District (閔行) United Front Work Director Jin Mei (金梅).
One of the pictures showed Jin giving a speech to a room of Zhongshan officials.
Wang accused Jin of avoiding due procedure by contacting the district office directly to arrange her visit when she should have obtained the department’s permission before visiting, adding that there are central government policies governing visits by Chinese officials.
Referring to memorandums of understanding (MOU) signed at this year’s forum between Taipei’s Zhongshan and Shanghai’s Minxin districts and between Taipei’s Zhongzheng (中正) and Shanghai’s Jingan (靜安) districts, Wang said China picked Zhongshan and Zhongzheng districts because the former is the nation’s defense center and the latter is where the nation’s political headquarters are located.
The Ministry of National Defense headquarters, the Navy Command headquarters and the Heng Shan Military Command Center are in Zhongshan District, while the Presidential Office Building, Executive Yuan and legislature are in Zhongzheng District.
The MOU, along with the municipal government’s inaction over Chinese officials’ disregard of protocol, have created loopholes that allow China to “cruise into” the nation’s military and political headquarters, Wang said.
Wang said the forum was an ill-conceived policy by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) during his tenure as Taipei mayor.
However, under city councilors’ supervision, Hau adhered strictly to cross-strait exchanges and made sure that exchanges between Taipei and Shanghai remained at the local government level, Wang said.
For example, Shanghai sent household registration officials and sanitation engineers to Taipei to learn about the municipality’s work in those two areas during Hau’s term, he said.
However, since last year, China has changed its approach by sending united front officials, such as Shanghai Municipal Committee United Front Work Department Director Sha Hailin (沙海林), he said.
Accusing China of trying to assimilate Taipei and “blurring the line” between the two nations, Wang demanded that the city government discontinue the forum and that Su relay his message to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
“Intercity exchanges are crucial to a global society,” Su replied.
Wang responded by saying that Ko has a “fetish” for associating with Chinese officials.
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
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS