The Republic of China (ROC) is still the most commonly accepted name to refer to the nation, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday, responding to questions about the use of “Taiwan National Day” to refer to Double Ten National Day.
Ko was asked about the Presidential Office’s use of “Taiwan National Day” in English to refer to Double Ten National Day on the official logo of publicity material for the day.
Ko said that every administration has used different terms over the years, from “ROC at Taiwan,” “ROC in Taiwan,” “ROC is Taiwan” to “ROC (Taiwan).”
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, Bloomberg
“At the moment, ROC is the greatest common denominator,” he said, adding that he hopes the holiday can promote a more harmonious society, rather than become a flashpoint for political wrangling.
Double Ten National Day is a day for solidarity and celebration, he said, adding that he hopes everyone, irrespective of their ideology or background, can do their best for society and make Taiwan more united.
Regarding President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) call in her address yesterday morning for “protecting our territory and safeguarding our nation,” Ko said: “Frankly speaking, Taiwan is not yet ready for war.”
“Avoiding war is the goal, but it can only be achieved by preparing for war and having the ability to fight,” he said, adding that the Russian invasion of Ukraine offers Taiwanese an example of how to respond in such a situation, and “that’s when you realize we aren’t ready yet.”
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei City Reserve Command yesterday initiated its first-ever 14-day recall of some of the city’s civilian service reservists, who are to undergo additional training on top of refresher courses. The command said that it rented sites in Neihu District (內湖), including the Taipei Tennis Center, for the duration of the camp to optimize tactical positioning and accommodate the size of the battalion of reservists. A battalion is made up of four companies of more than 200 reservists each, it said. Aside from shooting drills at a range in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the remainder of the training would be at
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