Aboriginal Legislator May Chin (高金素梅) and People's First Party (PFP) Legislator Tsai Chung-han (蔡中涵) said that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) speech at the Ketagalan Institute yesterday morning was insincere and swore to resume their hunger strike on Ketagalan Boulevard if Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) do not hold a press conference to apologize for remarks that Lu made last week about Aboriginal people.
"You said that you wanted to establish nation-to-nation relations with Aboriginal people. But now, the words of your vice president negate your promise. You say that you will give Aboriginal affairs special consideration in the new constitution. Do you really think we will believe you?" Chin said, referring to Chen's previous promises to Aboriginal people to help them get equitable treatment from all ethnic groups.
Taiwan's Aborigines can only be satisfied by a public apology by Chen and Lu at a press conference, Tsai said.
PHOTO: LUO PEI-TEH, TAIPEI TIMES
"How can an official apology be so difficult? Chen should come and face us directly though political channels, instead of saying a sentence or two in one place or another," he said.
The two legislators made their remarks at a press conference at which they discussed the future of their protests, after police halted an unauthorized protest at the Presidential Office at noon yesterday.
The two began their hunger strike at 10am Friday morning, leading supporters in a sit-down protest on Ketagalan Boulevard that lasted throughout the night. The hunger strike was conducted by the two legislators to protest Lu's saying that Aboriginal people were not the first inhabitants of Taiwan and that victims of Tropical Storm Mindulle should be shipped to Central America because of overdevelopment in areas affected by the storm.
The protest came to an end when police forcibly removed protesters from their camp in front of the Presidential Office after giving protesters three warnings to leave.
"If police touch me, I will commit suicide," Chin yelled as she was removed yesterday.
After negotiations with police, Chin left the scene of her own accord and was taken to a local hospital in a bus.
At the press conference, the legislators threatened to stage another protest on Ketagalan Boulevard if Chen and Lu do not offer an official apology, and said they expected an answer quickly because Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"Wang called us twice yesterday and once today, asking us about our progress. He promised to talk to the president about us," Tsai said.
When asked whether or not they would seek authorization for future protests, the legislators said they would not, because the area in front of the presidential office is the Aboriginal peoples' native land.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS