President Chen Shui-bian (
"Taiwan has transformed itself from an authoritarian regime into a democracy. We owe it to our democratic pioneers [to be selfless]," Chen said.
"[Those involved in] political confrontation or mass movements should free themselves from individual or political interests and value the [nation's] hard-earned democratic achievements," he added.
Disputes
Chen said that all disputes must be resolved via legal means rather than resorting to measures outside the system.
Chen made the remarks in his latest weekly e-newsletter published yesterday in response to an e-mail he received.
The e-mail, sent by someone who identified himself as "Hsiao Ban," informed Chen of an online campaign dubbed "Value Taiwan, Handle with Care."
Reacting to the campaign started by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
In contrast to the red color adopted by the anti-Chen campaign, the online campaign has chosen grey to signify its political "neutrality."
`Fragile'
The campaign's logo features an outline of Taiwan bearing the English word "fragile" and the Chinese characters for the words "fragile" and "careful."
Chen said he agreed with the sentiments of the campaign.
"Once a glass is broken, it will still be cracked even though we spend a lot of time and effort to fix it," he said.
Chen called on the public to show the same passion that characterized the hand-in-hand activity on Sept. 28 last year and demonstrate their love for the nation.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
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