Members of the New Power Party (NPP) legislative caucus, including NPP legislators Claire Wang, first left, and Chiu Hsien-chih, second left, attend a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday reiterated its support for lowering the voting age to 18, as well as abolishing the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan through a constitutional amendment, adding that it would achieve intergenerational justice and to solidify Taiwan’s status as a normal nation.

The best way to respond to threats from China against Taiwan independence advocates is for the president to publicly reiterate Taiwan’s sovereignty, former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said on Sunday.

Chinese media on Nov. 15 said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was compiling “a list of stubborn Taiwanese separatists and will severely punish them in accordance with [China’s] Anti-Secession Law and hold them accountable for their actions for the rest of their lives.”

Beijing’s imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law and a number of other democratic and human rights issues continue to strain relations between the UK and China. The tense situation has significantly decreased the likelihood of British Royal Navy ships being able to continue their practice of docking in Hong Kong’s harbor for resupply — a not altogether unpredictable development.

In a Nov. 19 online speech to parliament, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier would next year lead a British and allied task group to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and East Asia.