Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) is to depart tomorrow for the US at the head of a DPP delegation of lawmakers, party officials and advisers.
During the 10-day trip, he plans to gather support ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Cho is to travel to Washington, New York, Boston and Philadelphia, where meetings have been scheduled with US representatives and influential figures from policy research institutions and think tanks, to exchange views and to discuss the current political situation in Taiwan.
It is to be Cho’s first trip to the US as DPP chairman, after assuming the position in January.
Cho is also to meet with the Formosan Association for Public Affairs and Taiwanese-American organizations, DPP spokesperson Lii Wen (李問) said yesterday.
“Cho is to deliver keynote addresses at these gatherings, as he has been invited to several events, summer camps and conventions organized by Taiwanese-American organizations,” Lii said. “Cho will thank them for their resolute support of Taiwan, and helping to safeguard Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.”
Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), one of the DPP lawmakers in the delegation, said that Taiwanese-American organizations often hold conventions and youth camps in the summer, and always take an interest in Taiwan’s political situation.
“Cho, as the chairman, will report on what is happening in the party. We have many Taiwanese-Americans in US, and Cho will talk about party policies and direction. Cho can consolidate their support, and urge them to return to Taiwan to vote in next year’s election,” Lee said.
However, there are different factions among the Taiwanese-American community, and Taiwanese organizations in other countries.
Former premier William Lai (賴清德) challenged Tsai for the DPP’s presidential nomination, and a number of prominent Taiwanese nationalist figures backed Lai’s campaign, while others have called for smaller parties that promote Taiwanese independence to be supported instead.
Cho on Wednesday visited independence advocate Huang Hua (黃華), who has been fasting inside Taipei Main Station for more than a month.
The move was seen as a conciliatory gesture to Huang and pro-Taiwanese independence groups.
It was the second time that Cho has visited Huang since he began fasting on May 19.
Huang has only been drinking a small qunatity of fruit juice and milk each day.
The 81-year-old has said that he and several pro-green factions believe that the DPP has lost its founding ideals.
Huang was jailed for 23 years by the former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
When he began his fast, Huang made public his manifesto, and asked Taiwanese to sign a petition to declare a new Taiwanese nation.
He called on pro-Taiwanese independence organizations and small parties to form a new political group, with the aim of replacing the KMT as the second-largest party after the DPP.
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
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
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS