Independent presidential candidate James Soong (
Before reaching such a consensus, however, Soong said he would ask his vice president, Chang Chao-hsiung
Soong also said he would not rule out the possibility of sending a member of the DPP to China as a cross-strait envoy.
Soong said he would be willing to visit the US, Japan and ASEAN countries as president-elect before the May 20 inaugural ceremony.
"The future leader of Taiwan is not only responsible for the well-being and security of the people of Taiwan, he also has international obligations to maintain peace and stability in the region," Soong said.
"After I am elected president of the Republic of China, I will not only be the favored leader here but also a favored leader of the region," he added.
Soong said the Taiwan Strait has been pegged as "the most likely hot spot for war," but that "politics is the art of the possible."
"While the political dispute cannot be settled at once, I would like to use cultural and economic approaches to promote a friendly atmosphere, in the hopes of pushing through a 30- to 50-year peace accord under the auspices of international witnesses," he said.
Soong has said he would, under the auspices of the international community, push for the signing of a 30-year peace agreement to bring security to the Strait.
Soong also took the opportunity to launch a verbal attack against President Lee Teng-hui's
"It couldn't be more obvious that Lee's formula is not welcomed by the international community," Soong said.
"As a state leader, while he struggled to ensure national security and the people's dignity, he also had to strike a balance between maintaining sovereignty and avoiding an unnecessary armed conflict with China," Soong said.
Despite the fact that both the KMT's Lien Chan
"If China refuses to respect the dignity of the Taiwanese, I would not visit China if I am elected. If Taiwan's people fail to iron out their differences, what subject can we talk to the Chinese about?" he said.
Soong then turned his attention to the president of the Academia Sinica, Lee Yuan-tseh
Lee has offered to act as a cross-strait envoy if Chen is elected.
"Everybody knows that when strong acid meets with a strong base, it will have a strong reaction. Lee himself is a prominent chemist, so he should understand such logic," Soong said.
Soong also said that his national affairs conference would determine the nature of the message that was to be conveyed across the Strait.
"I would not deny the possibility of sending DPP or independent representatives to negotiate with China," Soong added.
Soong also said the current "dump-save" effort indicated that the KMT's presidential candidate has been rejected by most voters.
"The so-called `dump-save' tactic resulting from Lee Yuan-tseh's endorsement of Chen was a feeble attempt to push me out, since Lien's popularity rating has never been over 20 percent," Soong said.
He said that he remains confident of victory.
Meanwhile, in a related development, KMT legislator Chin Hui-chu
Chin's endorsement appeared to come as no surprise to KMT headquarters, since Chin had been included in a party "blacklist" and was waiting to be expelled from the party over suspicions of supporting Soong.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS