After the pan-blue camp's landslide victory in the Hualien County Commissioner by-election, the Minister of the Interior Yu Chen-hsien (
People -- from his comrades in DPP to the members of the opposition KMT and PFP parties -- believe that because of intensive crackdown on bribery, Yu should be responsible for the result.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"The DPP campaign tactics in the by-election were too crude, especially the bribery crackdown ordered by Yu," said TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
"We have to thank Minister Yu. He helped us win the election," said commissioner-elect Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山).
Yu has been a man of controversy since he began his political career at the age of 28 as a lawmaker from Kaohsiung County, where his family, one of the largest political factions there, has dominated for decades.
As the grandson of Yu Teng-fa (余登發), a major figure in the fight for Taiwanese democracy, Yu was destined to be deeply connected with the DPP. After his seven-year legislative career, Yu was elected Kaohsiung County Magistrate, succeeding his mother Yu Chen Yueh-ying (余陳月瑛).
After President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was elected in 2000, Yu was appointed interior minister with other consecutive appointments for a slew of his family members: His mother obtained the post of senior presidential advisor and his sister, Yu Ling-ya, became Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council Speaker. His wife Cheng Kui-lien (鄭貴蓮) and his brother Yu Jan-daw (余政道) were nominated by the DPP to run for the legislature. Both succeeded.
Some claimed that his family achieved their political goals with presidential guanxi, not by what they have done for this nation.
After he was named to manage Taiwan's interior affairs, Yu made numerous promises, drawing a lot of fire -- and he was not hesitant to return his own volley of invective.
His promise to bring the nation's growing crime rate to a dead stop was called a "bluff" by some lawmakers. To Yu's discredit, the rate continued on its upward slope.
In March, Yu touted his idea that the government provide illegal Chinese female immigrants with abortions, and idea which drew strong objections from religious groups.
When it was discovered that Yu made use of a police car to pick up his elementary school children earlier this year, declaring that he just wanted "to protect his children."
Yu is also a sports fanatic, and maybe the most renowned baseball fan in the Cabinet. The minister never forgets to assist baseball players with their problems and does whatever he can to make baseball in Taiwan prosper.
But his "sportsmanship" has also caused him strike out several times.
In November last year, the minister was absent from a Legislative Yuan hearing and was later found to be attending a baseball series in South Korea. Lawmakers, angered by what they viewed as dereliction of duty, showed a live TV broadcast of Yu attending one game of the series to the public.
Some of his subordinates think their boss is a responsible man with guts on a quest for efficient government, but some think otherwise.
"He is an idiot minister, doing stupid things," said a civil servant contemptuously who asked not to be identified.
The DPP Standing Committee will have a meeting today to review the Hualien by-election results and name winners and sinners. Yu may not be the only scapegoat named in the interest of party solidarity, but his leadership style and track record is bound to result in him being cast as a disputatious politician in the history books.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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