Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential nominee Ma Ying-jeou's (
"If Taiwan were truly Ma's homeland as he claims, then why doesn't the word `Taiwan' appear on his father's urn? Instead, the inscription only mentions building a greater China," Chen said.
Chen said the inscription on Ma Ho-ling's (
Ma Ying-jeou's camp immediately struck back, calling Chen "malevolent and disrespectful" for using a deceased individual as a political hatchet.
"What Chen did today was completely against the principles of benevolence, honesty and forgiveness that are so deeply rooted in the Taiwanese spirit," said Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Ma Ying-jeou's running mate.
A KMT heavyweight, Ma Ho-ling occupied several high-ranking party positions. He passed away in November 2005.
Ma Ho-ling's intimate connections with the family of former dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Chen's comments came in response to the KMT candidate's emotional plea to voters on Saturday, during which he said he loved Taiwan and identified with it.
Ma Ying-jeou also said that although his heritage is Chinese, he is genuinely Taiwanese.
"There is an ancient saying that home is where your loved ones are buried and my beloved father is buried in Taipei City," Ma said.
Chen scoffed at Ma Ying-jeou's remarks, saying he should not woo voters by lying to them.
"If Ma truly identifies with Taiwan, then why doesn't he speak up about Taiwan being his home? How can Taiwan be his homeland if we only see a call for a stronger China and reunification [on the urn]? Is Taiwan his first homeland or his second, third, or fourth?" the president asked.
Ma Ying-jeou, who was born in Hong Kong, did not respond personally to Chen's remarks, but his spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強), admonished Chen, asking him to remember his role as the nation's chief before making any disrespectful comments in the future.
"We fully respect everyone's freedom of speech and their right to agree or disagree. But apparently Chen has forgotten the fact that when he speaks, he speaks in the capacity of the leader of this country. It is malevolent of him to completely disregard the Taiwanese tradition of showing respect to the dead," Luo said.
Luo said the phrase about unifying with China on the urn signified Ma Ho-ling's belief that Taiwan's future must be one of "gentle development."
Moreover, Luo said that Ma Ying-jeou had been very clear on his stance on the nation's sovereignty, adding that the KMT candidate believes the future of Taiwan must be decided by its 23 million inhabitants.
Ma has always been in favor of maintaining the "status quo," he said, while urging Chen not to manipulate the truth.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS