The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of denigrating the country by referring to it as the “Republic of China, Taiwan region” (中華民國台灣地區) on Monday.
While receiving Brian Mishara, president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention, and recipients of the 2008 International Caring for Life Awards on Monday, Ma pledged that his administration would endeavor to reduce the suicide rate, adding that suicide was now the nation’s ninth leading cause of death.
Ma then said that “over the past 10 years, the number of suicides in the Republic of China, Taiwan region, had doubled, from 2,172 in 1997 to 4,406 in 2006, before falling to 3,933 last year.”
DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) told reporters yesterday that Ma should apologize immediately for the remark, as it degraded the nation’s sovereign status.
Ma had denied the existence of his own country, Lai said.
Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢), director of the DPP’s Policy Research Committee, said that Ma’s policies were leading Taiwan one little step at a time toward unification with China.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that Ma should not have to apologize because his comment was not an issue.
“The Republic of China is an independent sovereignty,” Wang said.
“There is nothing wrong in the president referring to Taiwan as the Republic of China, Taiwan region, during a non-political occasion,” he said.
“The public should refrain from overinterpreting the president’s remarks, because they did not have any political meaning,” he said.
In Washington, DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Taiwanese were increasingly wary of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government’s policy on China.
Tsai made the comments during a dinner banquet with Taiwanese expatriates after her arrival earlier in the day from New York City, which was the first leg of her two-week visit to the US.
“All of Taiwanese society has grave concerns about the KMT government’s stance toward China,” she said, adding that KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) was guilty of “seriously misjudging” the political situation.
Wu’s claim, shortly after a visit to China earlier this year, that “China does not intend to fire missiles at Taiwan” was misguided, Tsai said.
“In the face of Taiwan’s dwindling independent status and worsening economic situation, the DPP’s top priority is to protect national sovereignty, help improve the economy and take care of the underprivileged,” she said.
In addition to giving a speech at the Heritage Foundation, Tsai will meet US officials and aides from the Republican and Democratic parties before visiting Los Angeles on Friday and San Jose, California, on Sunday.
She is scheduled to return to Taipei on Tuesday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
The Chinese wife of a Taiwanese, surnamed Liu (劉), who openly advocated for China’s use of force against Taiwan, would be forcibly deported according to the law if she has not left Taiwan by Friday, National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials said yesterday. Liu, an influencer better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), obtained permanent residency via marriage to a Taiwanese. She has been reported for allegedly repeatedly espousing pro-unification comments on her YouTube and TikTok channels, including comments supporting China’s unification with Taiwan by force and the Chinese government’s stance that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.” Liu
FATE UNKNOWN: The owner of the dog could face a fine of up to NT$150,000 and the animal could be euthanized if he cannot show that he can effectively supervise it A pit bull terrier has been confiscated by authorities after it yesterday morning bit a motorcyclist in Taipei, following footage of the same dog in a similar attack going viral online earlier this month. When the owner, surnamed Hsu (徐), stopped at a red light on Daan District’s (大安) Wolong Street at 8am, the dog, named “Lucky,” allegedly rolled down the automatic window of the pickup truck they were riding in, leapt out of the rear passenger window and attacked a motorcyclist behind them, Taipei’s Daan District Police Precinct said. The dog clamped down on the man’s leg and only let go
RSS