People should cast a “yes” ballot in the upcoming recall votes, so Taiwan can thwart an invasion by “Chinese forces,” and become a model for democratic countries by ousting “lawmakers who collude with the enemy,” overseas Taiwanese said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Civic groups convened the “Overseas compatriots support recall, stay firm to vote yes” event at the Taiwan Civil Liberties Union’s office to urge more people to speak to friends and relatives to take part in the July 26 and Aug. 23 recall votes, which aim to remove as many as 31 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, as well as suspended Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Chiang Chao-hsuan (江昭萱), who is in his 70s and lives in Paraguay, said he returned to Taiwan to vote in his old home of Taipei.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
“Many Taiwanese are very worried. They have never before seen a group of lawmakers doing so much in violating the Constitution, colluding with China to stir political turmoil, slashing budgets to paralyze the government... We must oust all the targeted 31 KMT legislators, only then can Taiwan strive forward,” he said.
“It is Taiwanese taxpayers’ money paying the salaries of these pro-China legislators, who are contriving with Chinese communist bandits to betray our country. How can this be right?” he said. “So everyone must stand up to oust them, and if not, the KMT’s Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) will lead more of his party members to kowtow to Beijing and wreak havoc in the legislature.”
Hsu Chia-cheng (許家誠), who is a lawyer in the US, said that he returned from New York City.
“The KMT is willing to work as a proxy for ‘Red China,’ despite many leaders around the world already sounding the alarm about Chinese infiltration into the US and other democratic countries,” he said. “Those who collude with Beijing create conflict and division in society, and go on to control politicians and the government. So we must have the determination to stop them, because if enemy forces win, we might not regain our democracy.”
The KMT and the TPP have turned the legislature into a “monster,” possessing unlimited authority, and expanding its power to violate the freedom and rights of the public, he added.
“They abused the democratic process to destroy Taiwan’s democracy. If the recall votes fail, then our legislature would become a Chinese lawmaking body,” Hsu said. “I urge the public to use their vote to oust these ‘Red Communist’ lawmakers.”
Chou Shun-hsing (周順興), a 21-year-old student enrolled at University College London, said that about half of Taiwan’s voters are still asleep, and they must wake up to cast “Yes” ballots and ensure success in the recall votes.
He added that he has many friends in the UK who are worried about Taiwan, as they can see China’s ploys to infiltrate and undermine the democratic systems of other countries.
“We must fight on to safeguard Taiwan’s democracy. I hope in the future I can tell my friends that we have succeeded in thwarting the invasion by enemy forces of China, which has more than 60 times Taiwan’s population,” he said.
“Taiwan can become a model for the world’s democratic alliance, that we are a fortress in protecting freedom and democracy, and in doing so, I can proudly proclaim that we are the most courageous people in the world,” Chou said.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS