Neither Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) nor his Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) counterpart Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) has confirmed their participation in a national security briefing called by the Presidential Office next week.
Speaking separately with media yesterday, both leaders said they needed more information before deciding whether to attend.
“The information [we have] right now remains confusing and vague,” Huang told a news conference in Taipei, adding that he did not even know the agenda or whether President William Lai (賴清德) would attend in person.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
He said that while the TPP had responded positively to Lai’s proposal, made during a speech marking the first anniversary of his inauguration, he was now concerned whether such a meeting would be just a briefing from one side, rather than an exchange of views between different parties.
Chu expressed the same concern when he spoke with reporters during a temple visit in Taipei.
The planned meeting “should not be a one-way lecture from the president,” but rather a mutual discussion covering a range of national security issues, including defense, the economy and energy, Chu said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) called KMT and TPP representatives on Thursday to discuss the planning of the proposed briefing on Wednesday next week, Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said.
Kuo expressed hope that the opposition leaders would accept the invitation, adding that this would be the first time the Presidential Office holds a national security briefing specifically for the opposition.
She did not disclose what was discussed during Pan’s phone calls or provide any specific details on the planning of the proposed briefing.
During his speech on May 20, Lai urged leaders across party lines to “prioritize our nation’s interests and uphold our nation’s security,” adding that “grounded in shared facts, we can openly and honestly exchange views and discuss matters of national importance” and “tackle our nation’s challenges side by side.”
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
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS