Pan-blue legislators have stayed away from China's National Day celebrations, obeying their leaders' calls to protect the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) from accusations ahead of the presidential election that they are conniving with China.
"According to information we have from the national security network, there were no legislators from the pan-blue camp -- at least in an open, public fashion -- attending China's National Day this year," said Wu Jui-wen (吳瑞文), office manager of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chiang Chao-yi (江昭儀).
Chiang, along with DPP legislators such as Trong Chai (蔡同榮) and Lin Chin-hsing (林進興), are members of the Alliance Against Selling Out Taiwan (反賣台聯盟). The alliance was formed to monitor interactions between the pan-blue camp and China.
In a press statement released by the alliance two weeks ago, it said that China had invited pan-blue-camp members to yesterday's National Day celebrations.
The statement said that the invitations were sent to people Beijing believed "had made contributions to the interests of China."
Wu said that, in the past, there were pan-blue legislators, such as former New Party legislator Elmer Feng (馮滬祥), who openly publicized their attendance at the celebrations. But a KMT ban on its members visiting China, Hong Kong and Macao between now and next March's presidential election had been heeded.
The KMT issued the ban shortly after the alliance issued its statement on the invitations.
KMT legislative caucus leader Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進) said that the notice was issued to reduce the chance of critics "defaming" the party and accusing it of collaborating with China to sell out Taiwan.
"While there was no public attendance from the pan-blue legislators this Oct. 1 in China, the alliance will continue to keep an eye on any interaction between the pan-blue camp and Beijing and will publicize our findings when there are any," Wu said.
"We think it is extremely inappropriate for any legislators from Taiwan to attend China's National Day celebration," said Wu. "However, we are not surprised that there are members from civil groups in Taiwan attending."
Wang Jung-hsiung (
"[The invitations] were for the group's high-ranking officers such as the chairman, vice chairman and general-secretary," Wang said, adding that a delegation of four people was now in China.
Tan Shou (唐曙), secretary-general of the pro-unification Labor Party, however, said that the party had not received any invitations for the past two or three years.
Also See Story:
Editorial: The KMT's questionable allegiance
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS