A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus leader yesterday demanded that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) disclose the contents of an alleged "secret agreement" that KMT officials reportedly forged with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
Party whip and Legislator Lai Ching-teh (賴清德), said at the Legislative Yuan yesterday the DPP caucus is opposed to the KMT forging a "secret accord" with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that could jeopardize Taiwan's future.
The press has reported that KMT Secretary-General Lin Feng-cheng (
PHOTO: CNA
Lai said he wants the KMT leadership to make known immediately the details of the Hong Kong meeting, including which Chinese officials they met and the specific details of the meeting.
Lai called for Lien, as chairman of Taiwan's largest opposition party, not to act "tempestuously like spoiled child" in his efforts to go to China and meet with Chinese officials, saying that the KMT should have learned from the "bloody lessons" of two rounds of "reconciliation" talks with the Chinese communists before the KMT government fled to Taiwan more than 50 years ago.
Meanwhile, Legislator Chen Chin-jun (
These include that Lien meet with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) before the trip, that Lien swear not to strike any "secret agreement" with China, the entire China trip be open to cameras and reporters, that Lien make known that he is representing only "part" of Taiwanese public opinion, he let Beijing know that Taiwan independence is a possible option in the development of cross-strait relations, and that the "one country, two systems" scheme is unacceptable.
Chen Chin-jun said that Lien should meet at least six of the 10 conditions, claiming that if he only meets three or less, he should be considered "a traitor deserving nationwide condemnation."
In response, the KMT denied that party officials had forged a secret agreement with the CCP at Wednesday's meeting in Hong Kong.
Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday that Lien's trip to China could "de-governmentalize" cross-strait dialogue to the nation's detriment.
"In terms of cross-strait dialogue and exchange, we've already accumulated a substantial amount of experience under different administrations and built a framework for interaction. The government does not want to see the fundamentals of cross-strait interaction damaged as a result of an opposition party's trip to China," council Vice Chairman Johnnason Liu (
He said the government feared the trip would shift cross-strait negotiations toward the private sector, saying that interaction would become "de-governmentalized."
Liu explained that agricultural trade between Taiwan and China could have been easily conducted within the framework of the WTO and that bypassing the government had complicated the matter.
"If Chinese authorities really want to express good will ? they should face Taiwan's 23 million people, not just one particular political party, and an opposition party, no less," Liu said, adding that it was clear that China had ulterior motives in dealing with opposition parties instead of the government.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight