Pro-Taiwanese independence National Taiwan University (NTU) students who protested against the “Sing! China Taipei-Shanghai Music Festival” and were attacked by gangsters “were asking for a beating,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) said yesterday, urging Premier William Lai (賴清德) to stop protecting the students and creating ideological conflict.
The Miaoli County lawmaker made the remarks during a legislative question-and-answer session with Lai and Minister of the Interior Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮), during which he accused the two of being “biased” in their handling the incident that left three students injured, including NTU Department of History student Chang Keng-wei (張耿維), who sustained injuries to his head after Chinese Unity Promotion Party member Hu Ta-kang (胡大剛) allegedly attacked him with a baton.
The concert, now in its third year, was a spinoff of the annual Taipei-Shanghai Forum and the lease of the venue had been approved by the university prior to the event, making it hard for anyone to tolerate the protesters’ occupation of the stage in an attempt to spoil the event, Chen said.
“If I legally leased a venue for a birthday party for my mother and you, Premier Lai and Minister Yeh, tried to ruin it for no reason, I guarantee you there would be more than some beatings, there could even be some killing,” Chen said.
The university’s approval of the event sparked widespread student protests, Yeh said, adding that criminal gangs must not enter university campuses.
Chen interrupted, saying that the protesting students had infringed on the event organizers’ rights and by doing so, they “were asking for a beating.”
“Just because they are students, should that make them privileged? Why are you still defending them?” Chen asked.
Lai said that the university had conceded that it was “inappropriate” to lease its facilities for the concert following a review.
The university had originally decided against renting out its facilities, but some lawmakers had put pressure on it to approve the request, he said.
Lai’s remarks triggered more criticism from Chen, who accused the university of “blatantly using the influence” of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), an alumna, and her administration.
Advocates of Taiwanese independence and unification across the Taiwan Strait should treat each other with mutual respect, Chen said, adding that the Ministry of the Interior should have allowed police officers to take action against protesting students, rather than punishing the officers after the situation got out of control.
Chen asked Lai to clarify a statement he made last week that he is a “political operative that supports Taiwanese independence.”
“It is President Tsai’s jurisdiction to set the nation’s cross-strait policy and my political beliefs do not equate to [the nation’s] cross-strait policy,” Lai replied.
It is an established fact that Taiwan is a sovereign nation whose official title is the Republic of China (ROC), Lai said, adding that his stance does not sway from that of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who had said that “the ROC is a sovereign nation commonly known as Taiwan.”
He said he hopes China would understand that it is the hope of Taiwanese that they could create a win-win situation by promoting cross-strait exchanges. He also urged the Chinese government to acknowledge the ROC, so that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can put aside their differences and identify common ground.
The premier later told KMT Legislator Lu Hsiu-yen (盧秀燕) that people should not be pessimistic about the Chinese Communist Party’s 19th National Congress on Oct. 18.
Lai said that he “had expectations” for the congress, adding that he hopes China would respond favorably to the unchanged goodwill Taiwan has extended to it.
Lai’s remarks echoed those of Tsai during an interview yesterday, in which she said: “Tawan has conveyed the highest level of goodwill [toward] China,” and that she hoped both sides of the Taiwan Strait could identify a “new model” of warmer cross-strait relations after the congress.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS