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.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS