Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Tuesday said that Taiwan must not take sides in the US presidential election, adding that the nation’s security has to be its top priority amid a confrontation between the US and China.
“Taiwan must adhere to its own position in the face of the confrontation between the US and China. Taiwan’s national interest must be its first concern and cross-strait peace is the most important issue,” Chu said in response to media queries for comments after attending a video conference on US-China-Taiwan ties and the US presidential election hosted by Shelley Rigger, a professor at Davidson College.
Chu said he is sure that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is fully aware of the danger posed by Taiwan siding with either candidate in the election and warned that to do so would risk catastrophe.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
US academics taking part in the meeting also urged Taiwan not to take sides in the election, he said.
Asked which candidate he would prefer to win the election, Chu said he is neutral.
“No matter who wins the election, it is imperative that Taiwan and the US maintain close relations, which is extremely important to the nation’s security, and its trade and commerce,” he said.
US academics have said that Washington would continue to adhere to the position, and urged Taiwan not to base its security on any particular US administration or president, he said.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS