Mainland Affairs Council Chair-woman Tsai Ing-wen (
In a speech to the annual meeting of the World Taiwanese Congress last Saturday Lee called on Taiwanese to forge a new Constitution and change the nation's name from Republic of China to Taiwan.
His remarks sparked an uproar in the political arena and were the focal point of discussion at the Legislative Yuan's Home and Nations Committee yesterday, during which numerous lawmakers raised the issue and asked Tsai to comment on Lee's statements.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"The main goal of the government at the present stage is to uphold peace and stability in cross-strait relations," said Tsai.
She stressed that all the government's policies would proceed with this objective.
"What took place a couple of days ago was a solitary case," said Tsai, referring to Lee's statement.
"We are a democratic society and we cannot keep anyone from voicing diverse opinions," she said, adding that she hoped that China would understand the fact that freedom to voice various opinions is part of this nation's democratic development.
When pressed by lawmakers such as PFP Legislator Lee Ching-hua (
"First, all issues relating to cross-strait affairs will be dealt with according to the nation's Constitution and law," she said.
"Second, the government's policy has been consistent, which is the necessity to uphold peace and stability in cross-strait relations," she said.
Noting that the Constitution would need to be amended in order to rename the country, Tsai said that the question of a name change is one that should be determined and decided by the people through democratic means.
"China should respect decisions made by the Taiwan populace if, in the future, the people make a decision on the issue of independence versus unification through democratic means," Tsai said.
Opposition lawmakers also grilled Tsai on the reasons behind the delay in releasing an evaluation report on the proposed opening of direct transport links.
The report lists the possible national security implications, economic impact, technical problems as well as the advantages and disadvantages that each side of the Strait might encounter if direct transport links were established.
She offered an apology for the delay in issuing the report.
"The council has finalized the evaluation report and is waiting for an appropriate time to disclose it to the public when the international situation has become clearer and more stable " said Tsai, referring to the possibility of a war against Iraq and the threat to regional security posed by North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
"After the situation in these two regions become clearer, the report will be released after the council makes the necessary adjustments and revisions," she said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
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