Taiwan's mayors and county commissioners split across party lines yesterday in reaction to the passage of China's "anti-secession" law, although they were united in their opposition to the legislation.
The pan-green camp issued a joint statement signed by 17 regional leaders, while the pan-blue camp held an international press conference to publicize their "open letter" of protest.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
The movement to consolidate the views of Taiwan's regional leaders began when acting Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (
The two documents signed yesterday highlighted the differences between political camps, despite their common position in the face of the passage of the anti-secession law. All 14 of the nation's pan-blue regional leaders or their representatives showed up at yesterday's Taipei City Government press conference to sign Ma's open letter. Six of the 17 signatories of the Chen-initiated statement, meanwhile, were pan-blue regional chiefs who also co-signed Ma's open letter.
Regardless of differences in political motives, both the open letter initiated by Ma and the statement drafted by Chen emphasized that China needs to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic of China (ROC), that the anti-secession law clearly goes against the will of the Taiwanese people and that the anti-secession law cannot help the cross-strait situation.
In Chen's joint statement, titled "Safeguarding Democracy and Peace, Opposing Military Annexation: An Objection to China's Anti-Secession Law," the crux of the problem in cross-strait relations was identified as China's refusal to recognize the ROC's sovereignty, China's use of its military might and missiles to threaten the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and its use of aggressive means to sabotage Taiwan's international standing.
The statement also says that developing cross-strait peace and stability is not only the universal goal of the international community but also the common hope of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The joint statement urged Beijing to be prudent regarding enacting the "ill-intended" legislation.
Ma's letter to the international community, on the other hand, added that the majority of the Taiwanese people support the status quo, while emphasizing that it is only a minority of people that advocate Taiwanese independence.
During his press conference yesterday, Ma evaded questions asking why he did not sign the statement initiated by Chen, although some of the other pan-blue leaders present at the international press conference yesterday did.
Ma also used the press conference to clarify that he will attend the March 26 rally initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He has already made his position on the anti-secession law clear in previous comments and in yesterdays open letter, Ma said. There is no further need for him to attend any activities to express his views, he said.
Meanwhile, Hu said he was still reserving judgment on whether or not he would attend the event.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS