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.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS