Opinions were mixed yesterday over the kneeling in public of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
First Soong knelt with his wife at a rally in Taichung. Shortly after Lien and his wife prostrated themselves at a rally in Taipei.
It was the third time Soong has knelt in public, while it was Lien's first performance. Lien, however, stole the show.
"It is a very touching scene," KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖) said. Chen who participated in the rally said he had not known about the act beforehand, and only saw it on TV afterwards.
Emile Sheng (盛治仁), an associate professor of political science at Soochow University, said that the kneeling might be positive for the pan-blue camp, and was the most important moment in the rally.
"If the kneeling today was just Soong again it might have had a negative effect. But this time Lien and Soong both knelt down to kiss the earth, and the meaning becomes different," Sheng said.
"Lien and Soong's show of their love for Taiwan is not less than the pan-green camp supporters', and counters the pan-green camp's appeal in the `228 Hand-in-hand rally.' I believe the act was pre-planned, and that they may have moved pan-blue supporters."
Meanwhile Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), a political analyst and an assistant fellow of politics at Academia Sinica, thought that Lien's kneeling was, in fact, impromptu damage control.
"If it had only been Soong who knelt, then it would have brought negative effects. But Lien's prostrating himself made Soong's act not so prominent," he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians showed contempt for the pan-blue ticket's double act.
"Soong kneeling before Lien showed again that he was trying to capture the limelight, to obtain more political clout in preparation for a post-election power struggle," DPP campaign spokesman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) said.
"He has been trying to obtain more power even before the election takes place, and this kind of act cannot get the voters' trust," he said.
Soong's first public kneeling happened on Dec. 5, 2002 during the Taipei mayoral election campaign. He knelt down at a campaign rally in Taipei's Ta-an Forest Park in the evening, asking the voters to give Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) a second term.
He knelt again about one year later, on Nov. 9, 2003, when he visited Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
Soong got emotional and knelt down after he talked with Chang about a water-resources budget cut by the central government.
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS