Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) yesterday said that flag platforms should be installed on all the nation’s mountains with peaks 3,000m or higher so flag-raising ceremonies could be held on them, as the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate held a meet-and-greet event in Chiayi County.
The idea was suggested by one of the people at the Jhongpu Township (中埔) event, to which Han replied it “must be done.”
Yushan (玉山), Hehuanshan (合歡山), Lishan (梨山) and Alishan (阿里山), among other mountains, are popular spots to visit on New Year’s Eve, and the flag should be flown during countdown events at those locations, the person said.
Photo: Hsu Li-chuen, Taipei Times
“Although there are several hundred mountains that are 3,000m or taller, I will do my best to get it done. Two or three hundred mountains will not be easy, but having a patriotic spirit, a culture of patriotism, is a must,” Han said.
Han’s wife, Lee Chia-fen (李佳芬), arrived in Manila yesterday morning on the first leg of a trip to stump for Han in the Philippines and Vietnam. She is scheduled to meet with Taiwanese businesspeople and members of the expatriate community in both countries.
“This year our compatriots overseas are very concerned about the future of the Republic of China. Our friends in the overseas community have been enthusiastically inviting us to visit,” she told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport before boarding her flight to Manila.
She was sorry to be making the trip on her own, but Han is busy campaigning, she said.
“The fate of the Republic of China is tied to all Chinese, both at home and abroad,” she said.
Asked if her visit would affect expatriate communities’ relations with the Democratic Progressive Party administration, Lee said she would “act as her hosts see fit,” and would not cause any trouble.
“If we are of the same mindset, then I really could not care if people want to kick up a fuss,” she said.
“I hope everyone can express their concerns calmly, because we are all members of the Zhonghua minzu [中華民族, Chinese ethnic groups]. The future of the Republic of China is everyone’s concern,” she said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard