Netizens have lashed out at Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) for seemingly attaching more importance to the sun cakes that were allegedly stolen during students’ overnight occupation of the Executive Yuan building on Monday than to the well-being of wounded protesters.
Hsiao and Cabinet Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) inspected the damage and losses sustained by the Executive Yuan compound on Monday morning, hours after the students were forcibly evicted by riot police at the order of Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺).
“The sun cakes on my desk were taken, my cakes in the refrigerator are also missing. Flower baskets sent by my friends to congratulate me on my recent promotion were trampled. My colleague lost a NT$1,000 bill that he left in his office,” said Hsiao, who was promoted from deputy minister of the interior to his current post earlier this month, as he showed reporters around the building.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Hsiao’s comments drew immediate criticism from netizens, with some threatening to “pay him back” by ordering boxes of sun cakes to be delivered to his office.
A total of 150 boxes of sun cakes donated by netizens were delivered to Hsiao’s office yesterday morning, but Hsiao did not accept them.
The sun cakes were passed on to students occupying the legislative chamber, who are into the eighth day of a protest demanding that the government restart its review of the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Hsaio said yesterday that he did not mind that the sun cakes he reported missing had been eaten.
In a democratic society, people can express their own views to gain public support, but “taking away other people’s possessions without permission is not a way to make a case,” he said.
In response to media queries on whether he would sue the protesters, Hsiao said: “I didn’t think of that. I believe our young friends were hungry. They ate sun cakes and drank mineral water, things like that. However, I believe that they should behave in accordance with the law.”
He said that the point was that people had broken the law by breaking into government offices, going through documents and taking items.
Hsiao, who was previously Greater Taichung deputy mayor, added that he has received several phone calls from friends in Taichung, including Greater Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), saying that demand for sun cakes — a Taichung specialty — have increased recently.
Later yesterday, when the sun cakes were delivered to the protest site, protesters broke into applause.
Protesters raised sun cakes and said: “Thank you Hsiao Chia-chi. [We have] sun cakes to give back to you.”
A protester surnamed Tung (董), who received one of the sun cakes, said she felt “outraged” over Hsiao’s complaint.
“High-level officials care only about desserts and not about students who are being suppressed and injured,” she said.
A woman surnamed Su (蘇), along with three of her colleagues at a hotel in Greater Taichung, said they traveled to Taipei to support the students because they were worried about the negative effects the pact could have on local businesses.
“There will be more hotels operated by Chinese businesspeople, which will force locally owned hotels to shut down. Chinese tourists will live in Chinese-owned hotels. Chinese will make a fortune and Taiwanese will have miserable lives,” Su said.
Additional reporting by Peng Hsien-chun and Wang Wen-hsuan
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
POLLS CONCERNS: There are concerns within the KMT that a Cheng Li-wun-Xi Jinping meeting could trigger a voter backlash in elections in November Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit next month, her party and Chinese state media reported yesterday. Cheng, who took up her role in November last year, “gladly accepted” the invitation to lead a delegation to China, the KMT said in a statement, confirming a Xinhua news agency report. Cheng “looks forward to joint efforts by both parties to advance the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, promote cross-strait exchanges and cooperation, and work for peace in the Taiwan Strait and greater well-being for people on both sides,” the statement said. Chinese
SIGNIFICANT TO THE WORLD: The delegation’s visit aims to send a clear message that bipartisan support for Taiwan is consistent, US Senator Jeanne Shaheen said The US Senate’s bipartisan support for Taiwan remains strong and Taiwan-US ties would continue for decades to come, a US Senate delegation said in Taipei yesterday, while calling on the legislature to swiftly pass a special defense budget bill. A US delegation led by Democratic US Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican US Senator John Curtis — both members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations — arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a two-day visit. The other senators of the delegation included Senate Taiwan Caucus cochair Thom Tillis and Senate Committee on Armed Services senior member Jacky Rosen. Shaheen told a news
RSS