Asserting that he is the only candidate capable of making Taiwan a "normal country," Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Hsieh was speaking at a gala fundraiser for Taiwanese-Americans after arriving in Washington for a four-day visit to explain his policies and positions on key US-Taiwan issues to US officials.
Some 1,000 people from around the country attended the dinner, paying up to US$100 for a seat.
PHOTO: CNA
Hsieh's 45-minute speech was warmly received by the audience. Using trenchant wit when talking about Ma and China, he insisted that the DPP "has to win" next year for the future of democracy and security in Taiwan.
"Taiwan is in control of its destiny," he said. "We want to control our own lives and [the direction of our] democracy."
Hsieh accused Ma of wanting to "go backward" by urging reconciliation with China.
Hsieh said that if Ma were to be elected president, the impact would be felt in Taiwan for "generations to come."
Hsieh's arrival in Washington's Union Station by train from New York City was marked by an ugly scuffle between two news cameramen, one of whom was handcuffed and detained briefly by police.
The incident occurred when cameramen were jostling to position themselves as Hsieh alighted from the train and headed for a limousine.
In the scramble, a cameraman from Hong Kong's Phoenix TV knocked over a camera from the Voice of America (VOA) accompanying former ETTV reporter Daphne Fan.
While both men were described as aggressive and unpleasant by eyewitnesses, it was not clear whether the violence was deliberate or not.
As tempers rose, the VOA cameraman angrily demanded that Phoenix pay for the camera, whereupon police intervened. The VOA cameramen was handcuffed and briefly detained. He was released after the Phoenix cameraman was ordered to leave the scene.
No charges were issued.
Hsieh was scheduled to address reporters at the National Press Club yesterday and will be feted at a congressional reception in the Capitol tomorrow.
UNDER INVESTIGATION: Huang’s body was found just outside the bathroom and showed no signs of a struggle, and no alcohol or drugs were found Singer and actor Alien Huang (黃鴻升) was found dead at his home in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) yesterday. He was 36. Huang was also known by the nickname Xiao Gui (“little ghost”). His body was found when his father went to check on him after being unable to reach him by telephone, and called emergency services to the house at 11am, the Taipei City Police Department said. Huang’s body, which was discovered just outside the bathroom, showed no signs of a physical struggle, and he appeared to have been dead for some time, police said, adding that no drugs or alcohol were
CONFIRMED IN PHILIPPINES: The CECC would conduct contact tracing for the migrant workers to determine if they had come into contact with elderly people or children Six Filipinos tested positive for COVID-19 upon returning home from Taiwan, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday as it reported a case of imported COVID-19 infection, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Taiwan to 500. Philippine authorities reported four of the cases through the National IHR Focal Point, while the other two were reported by the company that they had worked for in Taiwan. The six — five women and one man — are aged from their 20s to 40s, and worked as in-home care workers, domestic workers, factory workers and sailors in Taiwan, said Minister of Health and
FEELING MISUNDERSTOOD: Media speculation has fueled confusion about the KMT’s reasons for skipping a Chinese forum and delaying an AIT meeting, party sources said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Sunday said that it is not seeking to improve relations with the US or China at the expense of the other, and that its relations with the countries would be topic-based. The party has faced questions over its foreign policy after it on Monday last week announced its withdrawal from the annual Straits Forum and delayed planned talks with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). The party has also taken a tough stance on the importation of US meat containing ractopamine, while also lambasting China for increasing its military activity in and around the Taiwan Strait. Following
The COVID-19 pandemic might not have originated from a seafood market in Wuhan, China, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said yesterday. While many countries are experiencing second waves of COVID-19 infections, many are also lifting lockdowns to revive their economies, allowing travelers to cross national borders, Chen said. Academics have been questioning whether genetic mutations in the novel coronavirus in different countries have made it more infectious, he added. Academics from different backgrounds have conducted phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences, he said, adding that the studies can help scientists understand how the virus spread among
RSS