Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokeswoman Angel Hung (洪于茜) yesterday hit back at the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) over accusations that it is “anti-US” and reiterated the KMT’s call for more concrete improvements in Taiwan-US ties.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday announced an end to decades of “self-imposed restrictions” introduced by the US Department of State to regulate interactions between US diplomats and other officials, and their counterparts in Taiwan.
Hung wrote on Facebook that shortly after Pompeo’s announcement, the KMT said that it views the progress in official bilateral relations positively and it would strive to help promote exchanges with the US, as long as they are in line with the Constitution and the expectations of Taiwanese.
Photo: CNA
However, experts in the US have raised doubts over whether the change in the policy would achieve much, as US president-elect Joe Biden is to take over the White House from US President Donald Trump on Wednesday next week, she said.
In addition to symbolic actions, people hope for more concrete, substantive and persistent enhancement of bilateral relations, she said.
The DPP has “absurdly interpreted” the KMT’s comments in favor of improved diplomatic ties with Washington as being “anti-US,” Hung said.
She accused the DPP of habitually using the topic of Taiwan-US affairs to exploit other parties.
What the KMT has proposed is what most Taiwanese look forward to, Hung said, adding that the KMT urges the government to pursue independent foreign relations, insist on equal, friendly and mutually beneficial principles, and respond pragmatically to changes in relations between the US and China.
The KMT hopes that the government can maintain a cautious attitude and prevent Taiwan becoming a bargaining chip for either side, she said.
As the ruling party, the DPP should consider how to further improve relations between Taipei and Washington, and focus on providing real benefit to Taiwanese, she said.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a