President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was heckled yesterday on a highly guarded visit to a wetlands in Changhua County in which Kuokuang Petrochemical Technology Co (國光石化科技) tentatively plans to build a petrochemical complex.
In a milder protest than the one held on Sunday, in which Ma was prevented from making a speech, one protester said he wanted to know how the president would view the idea of building an oil refinery in Taipei City.
Another said Ma should move to Changhua to experience what life would be like in an -environment like theirs.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
Ma, whose visit yesterday was private, did not speak to protesters, nor did he answer any questions from the media. He said he hoped to decide whether to build the plant before the presidential election next year.
Ma was shouted down in -Changhua County on Sunday while attending a protest to which he had been invited over the planned construction of the plant.
He angered protesters when he declined to sign a letter promising that he would oppose the project. The protesters then prevented him from delivering a planned speech with repeated chants demanding that he “step down.”
In the wake of the incident, the Presidential Office accused Lin Shih-hsien (林世賢), an organizer of the rally, of lying about the -invitation terms for Ma to speak at the rally.
Lin, who represented the Changhua Medical Professionals League, said the organizers had informed the Presidential Office that if the president wanted to speak at the rally, he had to sign a paper pledging his opposition to building the Kuokuang complex.
He said he had an audiotape that could prove his communication with a Presidential Office official about the terms by which political figures would be allowed to go on stage to talk to rally participants.
His remarks surprised Lin Chi-min (林濟民), president of Fangyuan Township Anti--pollution Association, which sent Ma an -invitation to the event.
Lin Chi-min said none of the organizers had asked the president to sign any commitment in exchange for the right to speak at the rally.
He said leaders of the coalition of civic groups organizing the event had discussed the “rules” for politicians going on the stage to speak at the rally, and he had personally talked to the president about this.
“The president told me if he could speak to rally participants, that it would be fine; but that if he could not, that would not matter either,” the association president said.
Presidential Spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said the Presidential Office received several invitations from different groups of the coalition from March 28 to last Friday, but at no time had the Presidential Office ever indicated that Ma would like to speak to rally participants or would sign any paper regarding the petrochemical project.
Lin Chi-min was the main -liaison with the Presidential Office and their agreement was that Ma would respect the organizers’ arrangements during the rally.
Lo said it was regrettable that Lin Shih-hsien had openly lied about the so-called “conditions” for political figures to speak to rally participants.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source