A KMT legislator yesterday took Premier Yu Shi-kun to task over a poll of DPP and TSU legislators that paints senior opposition figures as unpatriotic and ready to sell out Taiwan to China.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Responding to the poll, KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi (
"Could you tell me, sir, do you consider it patriotic if someone transfers his business accounts or financial investments from Taiwan to China?" Chu asked, alluding to presidential adviser Hsu Wen-lung's (許文龍) financial dealings.
Chu then raised the question of former president Lee Teng-hui's (
Refusing to comment on the subject, the premier said only that he respected individuals' freedom of speech.
Unsatisfied with the answer, Chu painted the Presidential Office as the "command center for selling out Taiwan" and the Executive Yuan as a "conglomerate for selling out Taiwan."
According to the survey, Soong received the highest score among those who were seen as collaborating with China to sell out Taiwan, ahead of Ma and Lien.
Soong was also ranked as the politician who would most enjoy sending Taiwan to its doom, followed by Lien and Ma.
Ma, however, was seen as China's favorite candidate for the position of chief executive in a future special administrative region of Taiwan, should Taiwan unify with China according to the "one country, two systems" formula used for Hong Kong.
Other front-runners for the job were Soong, Lien, KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), KMT Legislator John Chang (章孝嚴) and independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (陳文茜).
The alliance's survey was conducted just days after the legislature's Alliance for Civil Stability (
The three best-performing government officials, according to this poll, were either from the opposition camp or former KMT members. The worst-performing government officials were all from the DPP.
In related news, the premier yesterday used the legislative session to throw his weight behind the government's planned loyalty checks on government workers.
"Loyalty checks on certain government employees are necessary because we have to make sure that those holding sensitive positions are loyal to the country," he said.
The plan is definitely not intended to cause a return to the days of White Terror, Yu said, because Taiwan is no longer an authoritarian regime and the implementation of the law may be scrutinized by the public.
KMT Legislator Sung Kauo-hwa (
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique