The government’s dealings with China are “worrisome” because they are conducted in an oblique fashion and without a public consensus, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
Tsai was briefing Japanese media yesterday on the purpose of Sunday’s anti-government demonstration, saying it was to protest against President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) policies, especially those related to Taiwan-China relations.
Sunday’s rally is also a protest against the government’s proposed amendment to the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), which would turn Taiwan into a police state if passed, she said.
The passage of the act, she warned, would restrict people’s freedom to speak and assemble. This would be the antithesis of democracy, she said.
The DPP will provide more details on the protest at an international press conference today.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general John Wu (吳志揚) urged the DPP to cancel its rally on Sunday.
Citing a poll conducted by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday that said 56.1 percent of respondents were satisfied with the Ma administration’s performance over the past year, up from 45 percent in another poll last month, Wu told a press conference that the legitimacy of the DPP’s rally would be questioned.
KMT caucus secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said: “The DPP should understand that improvement in the economy, rather than political wrangling, is the public’s first priority.”
The poll surveyed 1,019 people earlier this week and showed an increase of 11.2 percentage points in Ma’s rating since a poll taken last month. His rating is up from 35.5 percent in July when Taiwan fell victim to the global financial downturn.
In related news, pan-blue camp Taipei City councilors yesterday condemned Taipei City’s Department of Transportation for failing to present complete traffic control measures on Monday for the DPP’s sit-in protest, urging the department to protect the “rights of the majority.”
The DPP obtained a permit to hold a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on Sunday, but decided not to apply for permission for the sit-in protest that will last until Monday.
New Party Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) said although the DPP refused to make the 24-hour sit-in protest legal by applying to the Taipei City Government for permission, the department should still draw up traffic control measures for people who need to work on Monday.
“The sit-in protest is two days away and the department has only presented a traffic control plan for the rally on Sunday. The traffic on Monday is what we are concerned about because most people will be returning to work,” she said yesterday at the Taipei City Council.
New Party Taipei City Councilor Hou Kuang-chun (侯冠群) also demanded that the department and Taipei City’s Police Department present a traffic plan so that those who need to visit National Taiwan University Hospital or go to schools near the Presidential Office would not be affected by the sit-in.
Fang Yang-ning (方仰寧), director of Taipei City Police Department’s Traffic Division, said it would implement flexible traffic controls on Monday as it was difficult to estimate the exact number of protesters who will stay for the sit-in. Fang, who handled traffic control during the 24-hour sit-in protest against then president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2006, promised to make sure students and patients would be able to enter the area unimpeded.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND AFP
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have
RSS