President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that the Dalai Lama is not welcome to visit Taiwan.
Ma, attending a presidential briefing held by the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club in Taipei, was asked how he would respond to the Tibetan spiritual leader’s Nov. 28 comments to Elta TV in the northern Indian city of Dharamsala that he would like to visit Taiwan next year.
“We generally welcome religious leaders from all over the world to visit Taiwan, but I think at the current moment the timing isn’t appropriate,” he said.
The comments mark a distinct change of attitude for the president, who on March 23 said he welcomed the Tibetan spiritual leader to visit the nation following his inauguration.
Quizzed about the recent resignation of Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman Gordon Chen (陳樹) and whether it signaled more Cabinet personnel changes to come, Ma at first declined to comment, but later said “there were no plans for a reshuffle before the end of the year.”
On cross-strait issues, Ma said the results of his push to increase the number of Chinese visitors to 3,000 per day had not been very positive, but that he hoped the deal to increase flights inked during Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin’s (陳雲林) recent visit and China’s changes to policy regarding travel to Taiwan would help.
He also said some protesters had been “wrongfully hit by the police” during demonstrations against Chen’s visit, but defended their actions by saying that more police than protesters had been injured.
Ma drew a laugh from the audience when, asked what he thought about China blocking Radio Taiwan International’s broadcast of an interview he did earlier in the day, he replied “that has happened for six decades.”
Ma said that so far there had been no concessions from China on Taiwan’s bid for entry to the World Health Assembly (WHA), but that the next few months ahead of the next WHA meeting in May would be crucial.
On defense, Ma denied that the military had changed its “offshore engagement” strategy — the idea that China’s military forces would be engaged in the Taiwan Strait — in the event of a cross-strait war.
He said the nation’s defense philosophy was aimed at deterring China from starting a “preliminary war” in the belief that an all out initial assault would bring about a quick end.
Talking about the prospect of a pardon for former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who is in detention on suspicion of embezzlement, forgery, money laundering and accepting bribes, Ma said that “no such action could be taken” until a final verdict had been delivered in the case.
“He has not been indicted yet, so I think it’s really premature to talk about a special pardon,” he said.
Commenting on Ma’s statement on the Dalai Lama, Dawa Tsering, the spiritual leader’s representative in Taiwan, told the Taipei Times by telephone: “The Dalai Lama knows very well that China would put pressure on governments urging them not to allow his visit, so he has always stressed that he would not insist on visiting a country if his visit would make trouble for the country.”
“I understand that President Ma must have his own considerations,” he said, saying that while the Dalai Lama was interested in visiting again, “his schedule is packed for the next six months — so it would be impossible for him to come to Taiwan any time soon anyway.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN
Also See: REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: Much style, some content, no tough questions for Ma
Also See: Ma in a corner over the Dalai Lama
ANTI-SHIP CONFIGURATION: The Tuo Chiang-class vessels are to be built for NT$9.7 billion by Lung Teh, a shipyard that previously built four similar corvettes for the navy The Ministry of National Defense on Wednesday awarded Lung Teh Shipbuilding (龍德造船) a NT$9.7 billion Co (US$317.57 million) contract to build five Tuo Chiang-class corvettes with anti-ship capabilities, a defense official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The corvettes would carry vertical launchers for four Hsiung Feng II (HF-2) missiles, as well as eight Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) anti-ship missiles, in contrast to ships configured for anti-air warfare, which carry eight HF-2 and four HF-3 missiles, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The anti-ship corvettes would be armed for improved standoff range against surface combatants and carry the latest
PARTIAL SUPPORT: Morris Chang said he agrees with the US’ goal to slow advances of China’s chip sector, but US policies that might boost chip prices perplex him Washington’s efforts to on-shore semiconductor production might lead to surges in chip prices and supply bottlenecks, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) said yesterday. The 91-year-old industry veteran said he supports parts of Washington’s effort to slow China’s progress on advanced chip manufacturing. China is still six years behind Taiwan in making advanced chips, despite years-long efforts to catch up, Chang told a Commonwealth Magazine forum that he coheadlined with Tufts University assistant professor Chris Miller, an expert on the US-China rivalry’s effects on chip manufacturing. However, Chang said that other parts of the effort, particularly Washington’s on-shoring
‘COINCIDENCE’: The former president should keep in mind local and global response to his actions and abide by the law to safeguard national interests, the MAC said The Presidential Office yesterday confirmed that it has received an application from former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to visit China next week and would be discussing his security detail. “As the travel restrictions on former president Ma have expired, we respect his plan to pay respect to his ancestors in China,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan (林聿禪) said. “We will review his travel plan and consult concerned agencies to assist him in arranging his security detail.” “We also hope that Ma, as a former commander in chief of Taiwan, acts in a manner that aligns with national interests and does not hurt
ALL CHILDREN ELIGIBLE: The Cabinet approved the latest version of the tax rebate distribution plan that unlike earlier versions, has no age limit, the finance ministry said Taiwanese and eligible foreign residents can from next week register online for a tax rebate of NT$6,000 (US$196) from last year’s NT$380 billion revenue surplus, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Cabinet earlier in the day approved the rebates for Taiwanese, foreign spouses of Taiwanese, foreign diplomats and their spouses, and Alien Permanent Resident Certificate holders, it said. Parents can also claim the rebates for their children, the ministry said, after earlier versions of the plan had excluded young children. Registration via 6000.gov.tw would be open from 8am on Wednesday, the ministry said, adding that the rebates would be wired to peoples’
RSS