President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that Taiwanese people have to be proud of the country's democratic achievements, and that those who want to unite with China by accepting the "one country, two systems" framework will cause Taiwan's democracy to regress.
Chen made the remarks while campaigning in Changhua County yesterday for the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) county commissioner candidate, Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠), reminding people of the scale and magnitude of Taiwan's democratic achievements.
Wong is seeking re-election.
Chen said yesterday that tomorrow, one day after Taiwan holds its local government elections, thousands of people in Hong Kong would participate in a demonstration against the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (香港特區基本法). For years, Hong Kong democracy activists have been demanding direct elections, so that they can choose the territory's chief executive and their lawmakers.
"Hong Kong has economic prosperity but lacks democracy. Taiwanese people can vote freely. We should be proud of this. Unfortunately, some people are unaware of this," Chen said, implying that the opposition parties' frequent contact with Beijing might eventually hurt the interests of all Taiwanese people.
"Some people want to unite Taiwan with China and accept Beijing's "`one country, two systems' mechanism. This will eventually cause democratic regression," he said.
The president said the democratic system in Taiwan gave him the chance, as an ordinary person from a poor family, to be elected the president of the country.
"I have been firmly defending Taiwan's democracy and sovereignty for a long time. I will keep doing this to prevent Taiwan from becoming part of China," Chen said.
In an interview with a local cable station on Thursday, Chen reiterated that the implementation of the three-links between Hong Kong and China did not lead to prosperity for the territory.
"Please be clever enough to ditch fancy ideas over Taiwan's prosperity being linked to the implementation of direct links with China. Taiwan has to hold national security above commercial interests," he said during the interview.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai
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