Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), who recently described himself as having an affinity toward China, on Thursday in Los Angeles said that his pro-Taiwan independence stance remains unchanged.
Earlier this month, the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party mayor surprised the public when he said he feels “affinity toward China as much as he loves Taiwan.”
The matter aroused great interest among the Taiwanese expatriate community in the US during Lai’s visit.
Asked about the matter by a member of the audience after giving a speech in Los Angeles, Lai said “feel affinity toward China, love Taiwan” means reaching the hand of friendship out to China, with Taiwan at the center, in the hope of enhancing mutual understanding and reconciliation, and facilitating the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
Lai said it is a gesture of friendship and also an attitude.
It is similar to Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) opinion that Taiwan should be “friendly to China,” Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) view that Taiwan should “know China,” and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang’s (鄭文燦) belief that Taiwan should “reconcile with China,” Lai said.
He said “feeling affinity toward China” can also be equated with “getting close to Chinese.”
Stressing that there is no change to his pro-independence stance, Lai said an advocate of Taiwanese independence can also reach out the hand of friendship to China without any contradiction.
However, he expressed disagreement with the idea of Taiwan signing a peace agreement with China, saying that such an agreement would not help bring peace, as is evident in the example of Israel.
Lai recalled that during a visit he made last year to Jerusalem to attend the International Conference of Mayors, he was told by the event’s organizer that peace is not achieved by an agreement signed behind closed doors by a minority of people — it would only arrive after a long period of exchanges that lead to cooperation and mutual trust.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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