Former Straits Exchange Foundation chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) drew ire from opposition lawmakers by making a visit to China just one day after leaving his post as head of Taiwan’s semi-governmental organization in charge of cross-strait exchanges and negotiations.
Chiang on Thursday stepped down from the SEF post after four years and four months on the job. He arrived in Beijing on Friday and met with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Wang Yi (王毅) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
“Chiang was the President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) administration’s representative in negotiating with China. Right after he left the SEF, he heads to China. Is this to report to his new master?” DPP caucus secretary-general Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said.
Chiang is reportedly poised to take over as chairman of the Chinatrust Financial Holding Co and was accompanied by Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川), chairman of the Taiwan Lottery Co, a subsidiary of the Chinatrust Group, when meeting Wang and Chen at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing.
Chiang said he was in Beijing to attend the opening of a new financial research institute at Peking University, which was partially funded by the Chinatrust Commercial Bank.
Appeared unconvinced, Tsai said that “for a long time, there have been questions and suspicions surrounding Chiang and his family because of their allegedly cozy relationship with members of China’s political and business circles.”
“Ma must give the public an explanation about this ... Ma always said Chiang was his capable right-hand man for cross-strait negotiations, so please tell us: Is there reason to doubt Chiang’s integrity and trustworthiness?” Tsai said.
Wang was quoted by the China-based China News as praising Chiang during their meeting for improving cross-strait relations, as well as investment and business.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS