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.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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