Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) forgot that Taiwanese are the “true masters of the nation,” adding that this is why there was not much of a festive atmosphere for Double Ten National Day yesterday.
“There is no atmosphere of festivity and celebration. In recent years, the nation has not been as prosperous as Ma described in his speech,” Tsai said in a statement. “The president has violated the Constitution to serve his own interests and those of the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT], leaving the government incapable of solving people’s problems and the economy, and leading the nation into chaos.”
“The KMT has forgotten that the people are the masters of the nation,” Tsai said.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
She said that if National Day has to be celebrated, the best way would be “for all people to live happily, and to allow people to live in a society that has freedom and democracy.”
“If the nation’s birthday is indeed worth celebrating, then let us all stand united under the democratic system, together solve any problems that we might encounter, find a good direction for the nation’s future and go through challenges together,” Tsai said.
Separately yesterday, in response to Ma’s speech, Academia Sinica deputy research fellow Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who is involved with the Sunflower movement, panned remarks Ma made saying that Taiwan should serve as a model of democratization for China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Huang said that while no one, except Beijing, would oppose democratization in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it is ironic when such words come from Ma.
“In the Taiwanese struggle for democracy, Ma not only had zero contribution, but often stood on the opposite side,” Huang said. “He reserved no effort to defend the authoritarian regime and opposed direct elections for president.”
Huang said that since Ma took office in 2008, he has made many moves to compromise the nation’s democracy, including restricting freedom of expression when then-chairman of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan in 2008; causing last year’s September strife by accusing Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) of unduly using his influence; and trying to force the legislature to pass the cross-strait service trade agreement.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“How could Ma be so shameless as to say he is proud of Taiwan’s democracy?” Huang said. “It is ironic and pretentious for him to call on China to democratize, as he often caters to China at the expense of Taiwan’s democracy and the rule of law, while Hong Kongers are bravely fighting against the Chinese Communist Party for democracy and freedom.”
He said that it might be too severe to say that people should be ashamed of Ma, but Taiwanese should definitely “beware of Ma” for the good of the nation’s future.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS