Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday accused People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) of failing to relay his message to Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and lying to an official from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) by saying he recognized the so-called “1992 consensus.”
During his visit to China in May 2005, Soong broke a pledge to relay his four-point message of “sovereignty, democracy, peace and reciprocity” to Hu, Chen wrote in an article published yesterday.
Instead, Soong discussed his own cross-strait initiative of “two shores, one China” (兩岸一中) with the Chinese leader, Chen wrote in his latest column, dated Sept. 11, discussing US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
Chen denied a cable saying that Soong told then-AIT director Douglas Paal in May 2005 that Chen recognized the existence of the “1992 consensus” and that he had described the cross-strait meeting in Hong Kong in 1992 as “inspiring and fruitful.”
The Hong Kong meeting did take place, Chen said, but no consensus was reached.
In response to a pair of AIT cables in 2005, Chen said he had no idea throughout his eight-year tenure as president that the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Tide faction had maintained a separate communication channel with officials from the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office since 1997 and that they had secretly visited China without notifying him.
The DPP faction, the cable reported, was led by former Straights Exchange Foundation chairman Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌), former National Security Council secretary-general Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) and former DPP secretary-general Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁).
Another cable reporting that he had tried to remove Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) as premier during the Red Shirt protest in 2006 was not true, Chen said.
He was not the one who told independence supporters that he was opposed to having then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) take over as president if he stepped down, Chen wrote.
However, a number of DPP heavyweights did express their opposition to Lu taking over as president, Chen said, citing a diplomatic cable as evidence.
A cable sent by AIT in November 2006 reported that Su had told then-AIT director Stephen Young that Lu was “unpredictable” in her behavior and thinking, and that a Lu presidency “is something that most DPP members fear.”
“Su laughed and said that he would resign before Lu has a chance to dismiss him,” the cable said.
Chen is serving a 17-and-a-half-year jail sentence for corruption and money laundering.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
RSS