About 300 guests, including friends, political allies and the leaders of three political parties, gathered at a birthday dinner in honor of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in Taipei yesterday.
Bridging the political spectrum, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) led the festivities alongside Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) in wishing Lee, who, in accordance with the lunar calendar, was turning 90, a happy birthday.
Well-wishers also included Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who, in an ostensibly deliberate move by organizers, was seated next to former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of the DPP.
PHOTO: CNA
Organizers also arranged for Tsai to sit beside Wang, who sat to Lee’s left in an apparent show of friendship.
Wang said he did not know whether there were any political considerations behind the seating arrangements, but suggested that it didn’t matter as all were there to celebrate the former president’s birthday.
These sentiments were echoed by former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who as he walked in said it was “very good” that everyone, regardless of politics, was invited to the birthday celebration.
Also in attendance were former judges, lawmakers, former premiers, Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德).
Despite the presence of senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) figures, Lee did not miss the opportunity to take a few jabs at the current administration. In his opening remarks, he said he was concerned about the problems Taiwan was facing.
Those problems, he said, included a growing dependence on a “one-China” market.
“Democracy is in retreat and the income gap is growing,” Lee said, adding that the nation seemed to have lost its sense of direction while “China’s political ambitions toward Taiwan” were becoming clearer.
Meanwhile, Soong said Lee should be praised for the political reforms instituted during his almost 12 years in office. Under Lee, Taiwan became more democratic and the government more efficient, Soong said.
Former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said that while it was “normal” for so many political figures from different political parties to be invited, what should make the news “were the people who were left off” the guest list — a reference to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).
Huang, one of the organizers of the birthday celebration, said earlier that he did not “dare disturb” Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, making him the only leader of a major political party not to be invited.
Also missing from the guest list was Lien Chan (連戰), who was vice president under Lee.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)