President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had yet another close encounter with a flying shoe hurled by a protester yesterday as he attended this year’s Taipei Hakka Yimin Festival in Taipei.
Although Ma had security personnel surrounding him at the time, the shoe flew over the guards and landed beside his foot as he was leaving the venue. He was not hurt.
Ma also had his speech at the festival disrupted as a protester demonstrated against the government’s land expropriation through forced demolitions in Miaoli County’s Dapu Borough (大埔), shouting “Ma, step down” before being carried away by police officers.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
In recent weeks, Ma has been dogged by protesters during his appearances and therefore his security personnel have been increased and nets have been prepared to block objects hurled by protesters.
On Saturday morning when Ma attended an event in Keelung marking the National Taiwan Ocean University’s anniversary, a Keelung City councilor hurled a shoe at Ma. The shoe missed him.
That evening, when giving the opening speech for the National Games Taipei 2013 at Taipei Arena, an audience member also threw a shoe toward the stage. Again, he was unharmed.
In related developments, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said it is considering setting aside an area outside the venue where its party congress will be held next month as a place where it can hear the views of and accept petitions from unregistered protesters.
Party officials who declined to be named said that Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, respects the right of people to protest and is seeking a middle ground that will uphold such rights while ensuring that the meeting goes smoothly.
The party had planned to convene its National Congress in Taipei on Sept. 29, but postponed it after learning that more than 40 civic groups intended to hold a large-scale anti-government rally that day outside the National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
The KMT later decided to move the meeting to Greater Taichung on Nov. 10.
It is now considering ways to accommodate the protesters while holding the congress without disruptions, including setting up an area for groups without permits to protest.
Several groups are expected to apply for protest permits to voice their discontent and general dissatisfaction on a number of fronts, including the economy and a controversial services trade agreement with China.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
RSS