The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus is treating China’s “small favor as a great kindness and great virtue,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said yesterday, while KMT Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong said the DPP should not oppose China’s goodwill just for the sake of resisting Beijing.
In a news release on Saturday, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said it was ready to donate prefabricated buildings to Hualien County in Taiwan in the wake of the April 3 earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and caused loss of lives and widespread damage in the county.
The disaster relief supplies would be donated through Red Cross organizations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, it said.
Photo: Screengrab from the office’s livestream
The TAO’s statement came amid a visit to China by a delegation led by KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi.
Wu said the delegation’s China visit lacks representation, and its itinerary and discussion topics were determined by the Chinese Communist Party.
The TAO’s willingness to donate prefabricated buildings “is only a small favor, but Fu has mistaken it as Beijing’s great kindness and virtue,” she said.
Prefabricated buildings were an option 25 years ago when the nation was devastated by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, and there were no other alternatives, she said.
“There are better methods to resettle people affected by the earthquake now, so why should Taiwan retrace its old steps?” she asked. “Or is it because Fu cannot say no to what Beijing wants?”
Prefabricated buildings pose challenges such as their construction, management and dismantlement, she added.
Separately, Hsieh said the earthquake in Hualien attracted international attention.
No matter if it is the prefabricated buildings donated by China or fundraising boxes in the streets of Japan, they all show goodwill toward Taiwan and the nation should treat them equally, she said.
Communication and negotiations are reciprocal, so the two sides of the Strait should maintain a good relationship to be together for a long time, she said.
The DPP should not always resist China and go against its goodwill, Hsieh said.
Additional reporting by Lin Che-yuan and CNA
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
The Chinese wife of a Taiwanese, surnamed Liu (劉), who openly advocated for China’s use of force against Taiwan, would be forcibly deported according to the law if she has not left Taiwan by Friday, National Immigration Agency (NIA) officials said yesterday. Liu, an influencer better known by her online channel name Yaya in Taiwan (亞亞在台灣), obtained permanent residency via marriage to a Taiwanese. She has been reported for allegedly repeatedly espousing pro-unification comments on her YouTube and TikTok channels, including comments supporting China’s unification with Taiwan by force and the Chinese government’s stance that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.” Liu
RSS