A Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper launched an indirect attack on Vice President Lien Chan (3s戰) yesterday, directed at comments Lien made on Monday, and warned Taiwan not to go "against the flow of history."
A commentary in Wen Wei Po (
"Is peaceful reunification not good? Why can't it be accepted? Or does Taiwan instead want the mainland [China] to use force to resolve the matter?" the commentary asked.
Without directly naming Lien, who blasted Chinese President Jiang Zemin (
"Someone yesterday declared, `The Republic of China on Taiwan is not a colony' and `We cannot accept the Chinese Communist Party's address during Macau's handover' ... This sort of talk is in reality avoiding the essence of the whole issue," the commentary said.
On Monday, Lien said Taiwan was not a colony, like Macau and Hong Kong had been, and that the "one country, two systems" formula used for their return to Chinese sovereignty would not work.
"Some people in Taiwan believe that the help of foreign powers and the deployment of TMD can delay the process, and even embark on the road to independence," the Wen Wei Po commentary said. "This is unrealistic and dangerous thinking. There is only one way out of this, which is to hold political talks with Beijing as soon as possible under the `one China' principle."
Macau reverted to Chinese rule on midnight on Sunday, ending 442 years of Portuguese colonial administration.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS