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.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
RSS