When a national disaster strikes, the central government should team up with the relevant local government to provide relief to those affected, instead of wasting time on political point-scoring, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday following a press conference held by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Whether it is dealing with a disaster such as the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung or drawing up contingency plans for flood prevention, close cooperation between the central and local governments is needed to get funds and personnel on site as quickly as possible, DPP spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said.
“This is not the time for recrimination. The nation needs a rapid response plan to protect Greater Kaohsiung residents, as well as the petrochemical industry,” Hsu said.
Separately, Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) criticized Ma’s press conference saying the president had not only not said anything new, but tried to shift the blame away from himself.
It is common sense that after a disaster, issues of relief, culpability and prevention must be discussed, Huang said, adding that Ma’s press conference bypassed the disaster to focus on other matters.
Criticizing what he called the Ma administration’s attempts to shift blame to the Greater Kaohsiung Government for not taking preventive measures, as well as Ma’s doling out slogans instead of help to those affected by the blasts, Huang said “such an attitude is not one becoming of the head of state.”
Huang also said the president was “too removed from the real world” to claim that the student-led Sunflower movement had stalled the draft cross-strait oversight act.
“If it were not for the movement, there would be no draft act,” he said. “Ma is the one who should be blamed for delaying the oversight act’s passage by trying to skirt democratic procedures with the cross-strait services trade pact.”
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
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