Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s campaign office yesterday said that he would donate NT$2 million (US$66,600) to benefit police, firefighters and environmental protection officers injured in Greater Kaohsiung’s gas pipeline blasts.
The personal donation came after the office’s denial that a NT$100,000 donation announced on Friday was Lien’s.
The office on Friday said in a press release that Lien would cancel his campaign activities for three days and donate the money saved. Disapproving remarks from the public and politicians followed, mostly criticizing the amount of the pledge, considered disproportionate to Lien’s wealth and the amount that his father, former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), reportedly donated to China after a 2008 earthquake in Sichuan Province.
Sean Lien’s spokesperson, Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇), on Saturday said that the donation was made in the office’s name rather than as Sean Lien’s contribution, adding that the amount to be given by the candidate would be decided after he had a clearer grasp of the casualties suffered by personnel.
Meanwhile, Sean Lien’s new campaign director, KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元), made a “clarification” on Facebook in response to netizens’ remarks about Lien Chan’s donation to China.
“I’ve checked with Lien Chan myself and the NT$10 million said to be his donation was actually a donation made by Yulon Motor Co (裕隆) chairman Kenneth Yen (嚴凱泰),” Tsai said, emphasizing that Lien Chan was simply doing a favor for Yen by passing on the donation.
“However, then it was reported by the Central News Agency that according to the Chinese Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council that Lien Chan had donated RMB$2.5 million (US$404,500 at current exchange rates) and 10,000 pieces of clothing for the earthquake in 2008,” former Democratic Progressive Party Central Executive Committee member Hung Chi-kune (洪智坤) wrote online after Tsai’s post.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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