Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she regrets the “gap” between reality and a media report on a US academic’s remarks about the so-called “1992 consensus,” urging the media to be more cautious when publishing reports.
When attending an Atlantic Council meeting last week on next year’s presidential election, Bonnie Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that, during a scheduled meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Barack Obama in Washington next month, one of the messages that Xi would convey to Obama might be that in order to have cross-strait stability, there must be an acceptance by Taiwan’s next president of the “1992 consensus” and of the concept of “one China.”
However, the Chinese-language United Daily News published a report on Glaser’s remarks in a story with the headline quoting Glaser as saying: “Taiwan’s next president must accept the ‘1992 consensus.’”
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times
“There is a gap between the report and reality,” Tsai said. “I think [the media] should be cautious when interpreting statements by any foreign academics or experts, including Glaser, because it is not only to show respect to them, but also important for readers.”
“I regret what happened, which is not the first time, and I hope the media would be careful when writing reports,” she added.
Tsai made the remarks when attending the opening of a special exhibition to mark the birthday of the late democracy pioneer Yu Chen Yueh-ying (余陳月瑛), who passed away last year at her residence in Kaohsiung’s Ciaotou District (橋頭), which has been turned into a museum to commemorate her.
Also in attendance were local politicians and public figures, including Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), former DPP chairperson Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) and DPP lawmakers as well as Buddhist master Hsing Yun (星雲).
Tsai praised Yu Chen for her contribution to Taiwan’s democratization, and vowed to continue to deepen democratic values if elected president.
Hsing, who is often considered to be pro-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), spoke with Tsai and called her “Taiwan’s Goddess Matsu,” saying that Tsai would definitely be elected president.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the