President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday made an unexpected visit to Singapore to pay tribute to the late Singaporean prime minister Lee Kuan Yew (李光耀), with government officials offering ambiguous answers to questions about in what capacity Ma is making the trip.
Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) told lawmakers during a question-and-answer session at the legislature that Ma was traveling to Singapore as the “head of state.”
A government official, who asked to remain anonymous, said Ma was invited by Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍), one of Lee Kuan Yew’s sons, to attend a private family wake at the official residence of the prime minister in his capacity as Lee Kuan Yew’s “old friend.”
Photo: CNA
While the trip was “personal” in nature, that did not change the “universally known fact” that Ma is the president of the Republic of China (ROC), the official said.
“Ma is the president of the ROC wherever he is,” the official said.
The official said that Ma has not been invited to the state funeral on Sunday, which many world leaders are expected to attend, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) after Xinhua news agency reported that the Chinese leader would attend the funeral.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
It was the second time an ROC president has been able to visit Singapore, which has maintained unofficial relations with Taiwan despite establishing diplomatic relations with China in 1990, following a visit by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) in 1989.
Ma and a small entourage, including former National Security Council secretary-general Hu Wei-chen (胡為真) and former Control Yuan president Frederick Chien (錢復), arrived in Singapore at 4:25pm on a China Airlines Boeing 737-800 after a four-and-a-half-hour flight.
The government kept details of the trip secret, but several media outlets broke the news online before Ma’s departure at 11:30am.
The Central News Agency cited anonymous sources as saying that Ma, Hu and Chien met with Lee Hsien Loong at his residence to discuss their memories of Lee Kuan Yew.
Ma was scheduled to arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 11:30pm last night.
At the legislature in Taipei, Mao was bombarded with questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers regarding the nature of Ma’s visit following media reports that quoted sources at the Presidential Office saying that “Ma was on a private trip.”
Mao said he was not “part of the planning” of the visit, so he could not comment on a question from DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) about whether Beijing’s consent was required for the visit.
After DPP lawmakers criticized Ma for “sneaking out of the country,” Mao repeatedly said the trip was kept quiet to “respect the wishes of Singapore and Lee [Kuan Yew]’s family.”
“The head of the country is required to explain his motive when leaving the country; otherwise how do we know that he is not absconding with money on a plane?” DPP Legislator Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
“We have to understand that there is no diplomatic relationship between Taiwan and Singapore, and we have to respect Singapore’s arrangements, but I am sure that President Ma would be treated as a head of state,” Mao said.
In Beijing, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Fan Liqing (范麗青) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying (華春瑩) urged Singapore to observe the “one China” principle when dealing with Taiwanese paying tributes to Lee Kuan Yew, since he had always upheld the “one China” policy himself.
Meanwhile, former vice presidents Lien Chan (連戰) and Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), and former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) — Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members — and former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of the DPP have been invited to attend the state funeral, all in an individual capacity, Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
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
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS