President William Lai (賴清德) has invited the leaders of the two main opposition parties to a meeting on national security matters at 9am on Wednesday next week, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) contacted Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Secretary-General Justin Huang (黃健庭) to invite KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and contacted Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu (周榆修) to invite TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) to the discussion, office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
The president hopes to receive positive responses so the briefing can help opposition leaders fully understand the national security situation and strive for a consensus on joint efforts, Kuo said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“We hope that regardless of party affiliation, we can prioritize national interests and safeguard national security as a prerequisite to facing the nation’s challenges together,” she said.
On May 20, Lai delivered a speech marking the first anniversary of his presidency, saying that he would invite the chairs of the opposition parties to a national security briefing.
The KMT yesterday confirmed that it had received the call.
Chu has made clear that the KMT has always been willing to work in good faith with the government to solve national issues, the party said.
Justin Huang is on a business trip to Taitung and would report the details of the call with Pan to Chu once he returns, it said.
Lai and his party should be tolerant and willing to work with opposition parties, it added.
The TPP also confirmed that Pan called Chou to invite Huang Kuo-chang to the meeting.
The party said it was grateful for the invitation, but would first review the meeting agenda and the Legislative Yuan schedule before confirming its attendance.
The TPP has always advocated for national interests to take priority over party interests, it said, adding that it hoped both sides could have an honest, open-minded exchange on the domestic and international challenges Taiwan faces.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office