Two senior Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members who attended this weekend’s Fifth Cross-Strait Economic, Trade and Culture Forum in China against the wishes of their party were the center of attention as the two-day forum drew to a close yesterday.
A minor scuffle broke out between reporters and Chinese officials in the morning after former DPP legislator Hsu Jung-shu (?Q) was pulled away from reporters by another DPP member when she was being interviewed.
Hsu and former Council of Agriculture minister Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗) received VIP treatment during the forum, sharing front row seats with several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) deputy chairmen at the opening ceremony as well as the discussions.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Hsu and Fan would face a review and censure upon their return.
“Although Fan and Hsu are senior members of the DPP, they will be penalized according to party regulations for disrespecting the party’s position,” Tsai said in Chiayi County yesterday during a rally in support of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office representative He Zhi-jun (賀之軍) said that Fan and Hsu were invited by the Chinese Communist Party “through friends,” adding: “We have made a lot of friends over the years.”
Hsu, who is nicknamed “DPP Grandma,” was approached by Taiwanese reporters for an interview while visiting the Song Dynasty-era Yuelu Academy in Changsha with other Taiwanese delegates.
“DPP members should visit China more often and get to know it. Taiwan independence is not the whole of Taiwan’s culture and the KMT is not all of Taiwan,” Fan said.
However, when Hsu began to speak Rising People Foundation president and a member of Fan’s 11-person DPP delegation, Weng Yuan-yi (翁元一), pulled her away from the reporters.
Asked why, Weng said: “I am her assistant … Grandma is old.”
Fan said later that Hsu had been taken away from the scene by a friend and that the gesture contained no malice: “The media should not blow this incident out of proportion.”
The KMT-CCP forum attracted 500 delegates, including 270 from Taiwan. It was cohosted by the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), and KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄).
“Beijing believes that as long as the two sides of the Taiwan Strait continue to solidify and deepen their political trust in each other, and work on creating positive conditions, we will continue to resolve other problems in the cross-strait situation,” Jia said yesterday.
KMT Legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴), a KMT deputy chairman, said six articles had been drawn up in a Memorandum of Understanding, including promoting cross-strait cultural exchanges, pushing for educational and media exchanges and supporting Taiwanese businesses in China.
Also See: Lai too optimistic on relations: DPP
Also See: Most Taiwanese students will shun China, official says
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
RSS