DPP officials yesterday expressed regret over Beijing's refusal to renounce military intimidation of Taiwan, saying the declaration has once again hurt the feelings of Taiwanese.
But the officials said that the public shouldn't be overly concerned with China's attitude, as it is merely a continuation of communist party policy and does not represent any new threat.
Taiwan received a flat rebuff from China two days after President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen told the Chinese leaders that Taiwan would not change its status quo if Beijing stops threatening Taiwan militarily.
But yesterday, China's Defense Minister Chi Haotian (
DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
The secretary general called on Beijing not to consider Taiwan its rival and asked that China work with Taiwan to seek peace.
Director of the DPP's Chinese Affairs Department Chen Chung-hsin (
He said that while the government does not expect China's attitude to be easily changed, there may be room for flexibility in terms of the tactics the government can use when dealing with Beijing.
The president has proposed using civil organizations to negotiate with China. Beijing has said it welcomes that initiative.
President Chen's recent tough remarks on China have triggered public concern that his shift in attitude could rile Beijing and make the resumption of dialogue impossible.
But DPP officials have said they do not believe the comments would affect cross-strait relations given that the DPP is still committed to a peaceful resolution of the cross-strait dispute.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.