A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to rethink its appointment of a China-born businesswoman to the party’s Central Standing Committee, saying it poses a national security threat.
Qin Pengzhen (勤彭蓁), a native of Sichuan Province, was one of 29 new members elected to the committee on Saturday, and assumed the role on Wednesday.
Qin married a Taiwanese man and moved to Taiwan at the age of 18, and has split her time between Taiwan and China, where she has run businesses in Yunnan Province, news reports said, adding that while she has acquired residency in Taiwan, she retains her Chinese nationality.
Photo: CNA
Qin has been a high-profile member of the Chinese business community, having been director of a Yunnan travel agency promoting tourism and cultural exchanges with Taiwan, and chairwoman of a Taiwan business association in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan.
She has also set up platforms to assist young Taiwanese entrepreneurs to start businesses in Yunnan, news reports said.
She was deputy chair of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, which China’s Taiwan Affairs Office established in 2007, the reports said.
Chinese state media have touted Qin as working to bridge cross-straits relations, while promoting peace and economic development.
In conferences and talks, Qin has called on people to follow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) political ideology to implement “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” and has shown support for unification, news reports said.
DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said it is worrying to see Qin joining the KMT’s decisionmaking body, as she could push for policies that interfere in Taiwan’s democracy.
Chen said that while she understands that Qin was elected to the committee by KMT party members, Qin has previously discussed her ideological views, which align with those of China’s central leadership and run contrary to Taiwan’s constitutional framework and democratic system.
Qin would have an influential role on KMT policymaking and campaigning for this year’s local elections, political science professor Fan Shih-ping (范世平) said.
KMT Legislator Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) said that if members contravene the party’s charter guidelines, or if there are questions raised by their actions or statements, the KMT’s disciplinary committee would address it.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
Taiwan must act to preempt potential Section 301 investigations as US President Donald Trump moves to a new tariff strategy, following a US Supreme Court ruling that voided tariff measures, an academic said yesterday. Countries running the largest trade surpluses with the US face a growing likelihood of Section 301 investigations, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. Section 301 refers to a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 that allows Washington to impose retaliatory tariffs over perceived unfair trade practices, including the running of large trade surpluses. Because Taiwan has become the fourth-largest source of the US’ trade
People hold incense and pray with offerings in front of Taipei’s Kuanghwa Market yesterday. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally about welcoming the God of Wealth, during which companies and shops set off firecrackers to celebrate their reopening and pray for good business in the new year.
RSS