The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) "one China means Republic of China" statement as a contradiction of the cross-strait reality and a hackneyed tune that has straitjacketed Taiwan's international participation.
Responding to Lien announcement, DPP Deputy Secretary General Lee Ying-yuan (
Lien's announcement, which was made during his just-concluded visit to Washington last week, was seen as a reaction to the simmering national identity issue and an effort to avoid leaving the impression that the KMT advocates Taiwan's unification with China.
Amid increasing public support in recent opinion polls for President Chen Shui-bian's (
Lee, however, yesterday questioned whether Lien had abandoned his plan for a confederation system between Taiwan and China, whether Lien had denied the "one China" theory proposed by Soong and whether Lien had acknowledged the existence of two Chinas.
"Any political discussion cannot deviate from the truth," Lee said.
DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who serves as the chairwoman of the party's International Affairs Department, said that the KMT's insistence on the "one China" principle is the major cause of Taiwan's international alienation and it should be held accountable for the loss of diplomatic allies.
Hsiao said that the "one China means ROC" formula was contradictory to international reality and could not solidify the public's national identity awareness.
"If the KMT hadn't insisted on the legitimacy of the ROC government, Taiwan would have been given a seat in the UN back in 1971 when the People's Republic of China replaced the ROC on the UN's Security Council," Hsiao said.
Meanwhile, as polls showed a growth in the DPP's traditional-support base in the wake of the Oct. 25 march in Kaohsiung which attracted some 200,000 people, KMT officials yesterday expressed worries that the party was too "soft and quiet" compared to the DPP's active campaign mobilization.
At the KMT's weekly Central Standing Committee yesterday, KMT legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) warned the party to be aware of the narrowing of public support between Chen and the pan-blue's Lien-Soong presidential ticket as the integration of the KMT and PFP was supposed to outmatch the DPP.
Lien also criticized the party as too "conservative" and "quiet" ahead of the presidential campaign.
Meanwhile, a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday reported that some KMT high-ranking officials had suggested that Lien promise that he won't push for unification with China during his presidential tenure if he was elected next year.
In response, Lien said in the near future, China and Taiwan should adopt a "parallel development" model.
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
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.
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
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