The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday defended the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) criticized the cross-strait economic pact. The KMT said the DPP presidential candidate Tsai was running a smear campaign against the ECFA.
Tsai, in a speech at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) on Tuesday during her trip to the US, said the DPP would handle any possible adjustments or changes to the ECFA via democratic procedures.
KMT spokesman Chen Yi-hsin (陳以信) said Tsai has previously claimed that she would abandon the ECFA if the DPP regained power and she has now changed her position on the issue.
“Tsai should explain whether she supports the ECFA and stop changing her position on the issue, manipulating it for election purposes,” Chen said.
The KMT also urged Tsai to refrain from focusing her trip in the US on personal attacks against the executive director of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election campaign, King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), who is also in the US on a 12-day campaign trip.
Ma, who also doubles as KMT chairman, yesterday defended King following criticism from Tsai and the DPP over King’s recent comments on cross-strait policy.
In an interview with Phoenix Television in the US, King discussed the Ma administration’s cross-strait policies and the possibility of Ma visiting China if he is re-elected in January. His remarks sparked controversy and attracted criticism from Tsai and the DPP, which said he broke protocol by commenting on government policies when he is not a government official.
“As a senior KMT member and former secretary-general of the party, there’s nothing inappropriate about King discussing the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, which is included in the party’s guidelines. It is not a breach of government protocol,” Ma said during a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
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Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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