Independence advocates and pro-China political parties held rival gatherings as US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her delegation met with Taiwanese officials at the Legislative Yuan yesterday morning.
Members of the Taiwan Republic Office and the Nation-Building Forum waved two large US national flags and shouted slogans.
They held banners that read “USA House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Welcome to Taiwan Republic,” as well as “Rejecting China,” and “Blessings for Taiwan,” as they rallied at Jinan Road next to the Che-lam Presbyterian Church next to the Legislative Yuan.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
“Pelosi visiting Taiwan at this tense political time, and with the war in Ukraine, has enhanced Taiwan’s status among the nations of the world’s democratic alliance. She has enabled Taiwan to forge more international links and to provide mutual assistance,” Taiwan Republic chairman Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) said.
On the other side of the Legislative Yuan compound, members of the pro-China New Party and the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) held a rival gathering, holding banners that read “Get out! Troublemaker Nancy Pelosi” and “American witch,” while another sign written in Chinese characters called Pelosi a “toxic, deranged woman.”
CUPP founder Chang An-le (張安樂) joined the protest later.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“Pelosi is here to elevate the US Democratic Party for [the midterm] elections and to help the election of the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP],” he said.
“Who will pay the price ? All the people in Taiwan,” Chang said.
New Party members have over the past few days said that the visit would cause war and bloodshed, and that the DPP is to blame for China’s aggression against Taiwan.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
A large police detail guarded the Legislative Yuan to protect the US delegation and prevent intruders from entering the compound.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS