Tensions between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) have become the center of attention as the nation prepares for the Double Ten National Day celebration, with the event organizer saying it has not made changes to seating arrangements or ceremonial procedures.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇), who also serves as secretary-general of the National Day Celebration Organizing Committee, yesterday unveiled the details of the ceremony scheduled to take place in front of the Presidential Office on Thursday. He said that seating of the guests would be the same as in previous years, with Ma seated next to first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) and Wang seated next to Chow.
Wang, as the head of the celebration’s organizing committee, will preside over the opening ceremony at 9:24am on Thursday, and enter the Presidential Office to accompany Ma to the ceremony at 10:30am.
The president will make his Double Ten National Day address and watch the celebration program. Both Ma and Wang will stay until the ceremony is over at 11:40am, Hsiao said.
“We have followed previous conventions in the seating arrangement and ceremony procedures. There are no special considerations or exceptions,” he told a press conference at the Ministry of the Interior.
Wang, who was scheduled to preside over the press conference, did not show up, much to the disappointment of reporters who were waiting to ask him about his “inevitable” meeting with the president.
Ma and Wang have not seen each other since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) revoked Wang’s party membership earlier this month over allegations of improper lobbying.
The problematic relations between Ma and Wang have raised concern about a widening political rift. While the two will likely meet on Thursday, speculation about a plan by the Ma administration to “eliminate Wang” continues.
The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed the latest rumors that the Ma administration has arranged fewer meetings between Wang and foreign guests during the Double Ten National Day celebration.
Presidential Office spokesperson Li Chia-fei (李佳霏) said the whole ceremony, including meetings and banquets with foreign guests, were planned by the preparatory committee and there were no special arrangements.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) also denied that the ministry has purposely excluded Wang when it arranged itineraries for guests.
Lin said the ministry has informed Wang’s office of the five highest-level delegations, led by Paluan President Tommy Remengesau, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo, Gambian Vice President Isatou Njie-Saidy, Burkina Faso National Assembly Speaker Soungalo Apollinaire Ouattara and Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Santos Lopez.
The ministry has followed the rules of diplomatic etiquette when it arranged the guests’ itineraries, which were no different from past practice, Lin said.
“We are respectful of Speaker Wang who leads the legislature as well as the National Day Celebration Organizing Committee,” Lin said.
However, a delegation from Japan would have missed meeting Wang if Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) had not spoken up.
Lee told the Taipei Times yesterday that he did not know why the ministry asked him to receive the delegation led by Takeaki Matsumoto, a member of House of Representative of Japan and former foreign minister, on behalf of the legislature when he knew that Wang was expecting to meet with Matsumoto.
Lee said he then suggested that the ministry set up a meeting between Wang and Matsumoto because he felt it would have been impolite if he had acted as Wang’s representative in receiving Matsumoto.
Wang , in response to media queries, downplayed the issue.
“It’s unlikely that it would go that far as not to [have visiting foreign dignitaries meet me,]” Wang said.
“It’s OK. I will host receptions for the delegations led by speakers from Colombia and Burkina Faso, the delegation from the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Counci, and a delegation from South Korea,” Wang added.
The Double Ten Day celebration will start at 9:24am with a performance by the Joint Military Marching Band and the Armed Forces Honor Guard. A children’s choir from Nantou County’s Sinyi Township (信義) will lead the audience in singing the national anthem at the ceremony, followed by a speech by Ma.
Among the six leaders of political parties invited to the ceremony, former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) will attend the ceremony, Hsiao said.
A 42-minute fireworks display will be held at Hsinchu Harbor in Hsinchu City at 7pm.
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS