Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

 
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Home The News News Tsai receives a warm welcome in Philippines

Tsai receives a warm welcome in Philippines

The arrival of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in Manila yesterday has seemingly ignited an underlying tussle between the pro-independence and pro-unification forces in the local Chinese-speaking expatriate community.

The DPP leader was warmly greeted by about 20 Taiwanese expatriates at Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Their shouts of tong-suan (凍蒜, meaning “get elected” in Hoklo, also known as Taiwanese) drew curious glances from passersby at the airport.

Taiwanese Representative to the Philippines Donald Lee (李傳通) also welcomed Tsai at the airport.

Accompanied by DPP legislators Yu Tien (余天) and Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) former Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission minister Chang Fu-mei (張富美) and DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦), Tsai Iing-wen chatted with the well-wishers and received a courtesy custom clearance before being whisked away without taking any questions from the media.

Some Chinese groups in the Philippines, meanwhile, have run ads in local Chinese-language newspapers in recent days that call Tsai Ing-wen “a Taiwan independence activist” and said they did not welcome her visit.

To ensure security, Taiwanese businesspeople in the Philippines Manila applied for nine police officers to safeguard the DPP chairperson and her delegation during their three-day visit.

Tsai Ing-wen’s visit is mainly to attend the launch of the Philippine chapter of overseas Taiwanese businesspeople who support her presidential bid.

She will also attend the 57th Congress of the Liberal International — a London-based federation of liberal and democratic political parties around the world — in Metro Manila today, during which she will deliver a 10-minute speech on human rights and trade and meet with party leaders from other countries.

She will also attend a fundraising dinner for her campaign as the standard bearer of the party in January’s presidential election.

Organizers of the fundraiser have already collected 6.5 million pesos (US$148,640).

Tsai is expected to return to Taiwan tomorrow afternoon.


Source: Taipei Times - 2011/06/19



Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
Reddit! Del.icio.us! Mixx! Google! Live! Facebook! StumbleUpon! Facebook! Twitter!  
 

Newsflash


Supporters of Amnesty International and several other human rights groups hold a protest outside the Russian representative office in Taipei yesterday, calling on Russia to stop supplying arms to Syria.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Taipei Times

Human rights groups yesterday protested outside the Russian representative office in Taipei, condemning what they said was the Moscow-sponsored violence in Syria, while urging the Russian government to suspend arms sales to the Syrian government.

Since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad broke out in March last year, more than 14,000 people have reportedly been killed. Many were civilians who died from government artillery and tank shellings, or were shot at close range. Despite the escalation of violence, Moscow continues to sell weapons to its ally in Damascus.