Lawmakers of all stripes yesterday criticized the government for failing to avert Vice President Annette Lu's (
Some urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to punish inept and negligent officials while others suggested Lu immediately return to the country in a show of indignation.
Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he regretted Lu's predicament in Indonesia Wednesday and that the premature exposure of her surprise visit contributed to the latest diplomatic blunder.
The vice president was stranded in Jakarta's international airport for two hours as the Indonesian government, bowing to pressure from China, denied her entry to its capital. Lu had to fly on to the popular resort island of Bali instead.
"No doubt Beijing is to blame for relentlessly suppressing Taiwan's diplomatic space, but authorities at home should also launch a probe into the leak," Wang told reporters.
Extensive media reports on the eve of Lu's visit were believed to have helped spoil her plan to break Chinese isolation by making a surprise trip to the Southeast Asian neighbor.
DPP legislative leader Ker Chien-ming (
He said the vice president originally hoped to make diplomatic inroads during her visit there but the plan foundered after Beijing lodged strong protests with Jakarta. Indonesia has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
"Beijing's intimidating tactics are deplorable," Ker said. "In the meantime, the government [here] is apparently wanting in its ability to protect secret information."
While Wang and Ker shied away from naming the culprit, TSU Legislator Wang Cheng-chung (
In a press statement, the lawmaker panned the ministry and its Indonesian representatives for being slow in dealing with the diplomatic incident.
He said that diplomats based in Jakarta failed to come to Lu's aid until hours after the vice president landed in the country.
"This and earlier diplomatic setbacks show that the ministry is in serious need of reform," he said, naming one of the setbacks as the loss of diplomatic ties with the Pacific island-state of Nauru.
The lawmaker pressed the ministry to conduct a sweeping review of its intelligence-gathering and decision-making units and sack inept and negligent staffers without delay.
"The existence of insensitive and incompetent officials is more disappointing than China's diplomatic strangulation," he said.
Sharing the rage, the KMT's legislative caucus suggested the vice president return home immediately to protest the humiliating treatment.
"The whole incident is unbelievable," KMT lawmaker Tseng Yung-chuan (
He called on Lu to cut short her vacation in a gesture of protest against her predicament, which the legislator added has harmed the nation's dignity.
The vice president plans to stay in Indonesia for four days.
PFP legislative leader Shen Chih-hwei (
"The government should take steps to protect the vice president from being further humiliated," she urged.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data