Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma also accused the central government of neglecting society's demands for the truth about the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (
"The central government rushed to do things that it was not supposed to do, yet it failed to do things that really need to be taken care of," Ma said yesterday.
Ma, who is also vice chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said he suspected that the investigative panel that has been set up to investigate the shooting was low level and had little power. He urged Chen to quickly establish an investigative committee.
State Public Prosecutor-General Lu Jen-fa (
"I maintain that an independent and high-level investigative committee should be set up to investigate the shooting, just as the US Supreme Court did when handling the JFK assassination. Only by doing so can people be convinced of the result," Ma said.
When asked by the media about the events on Saturday night following a huge protest organized by the pan-blue camp, Ma acknowledged that he received two phone calls on Sunday morning at about 1am from Chang Si-liang (
Ma said Chang offered to act on Ma's behalf to disperse the crowd, which numbered about 1,000 at the time, and had refused to leave Ketagalan Boulevard even though the rally was legally over at 6pm. Ma said he turned down Chang's suggestion.
Much of the crowd voluntarily moved to the nearby Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall plaza, but a few hundred had to be dragged or pushed away.
Ma yesterday said that "it was strange for the NPA to have its hand in the dispersion at the last minute."
"I think it was illegal, unfeasible and unnecessary for the NPA to intervene in the dispersion," Ma said, stressing that the city government had handled the protests for one week and the police and the crowd "had developed a good interaction."
Besides, the city government had planned to disperse the crowd with placatory measures, he added.
"I can't imagine what would have happened if the central government had come in at the last minute," Ma said.
The pan-blue supporters had been blocking Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office for one week after KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) claimed that the presidential election was unfair and that he would file a lawsuit to nullify the election.
At various points during the week, the crowd had broken the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法), but Ma refused to disperse them and eventually issued permits for them to demonstrate legally.
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang
One of two tropical depressions that formed offshore this morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. It is expected to move in a northwesterly direction as it continues building momentum, possibly intensifying into Typhoon Mitag this weekend, she added. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is expected to approach southeast of Taiwan on Monday and pass through the Bashi Channel between Tuesday and Wednesday,
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
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