Amid finger-pointing between the ruling and opposition parties, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday apologized to the public for the kerfuffle at the CKS International Airport on Tuesday, saying it had seriously damaged the nation's image.
"We, as a responsible ruling party, feel sorry about what happened and condemn any form of violence," DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said. "We are in favor of meting out punishment to those held responsible in accordance with the law and urge agencies concerned to conduct a swift and thorough examination of the matter to prevent any similar occurrence from happening again."
Lai said it is not fair or correct to blame the violence on a single party or individual.
"Until the truth comes out, we hope opposition parties refrain from politicizing the matter and damaging the political climate, which is gradually turning congenial," he said.
Flanked by his colleagues who went to the airport to "see off" Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"We strongly suspect they were gangsters," DPP Legislator Chen Chin-jun (
In addition to asking government officials to bring suspected gangsters involved in the tussle to justice, Wang condemned New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (
"Such venomous comments should have been uttered by such Taiwanese people as I, who was a victim of the infamous `228 incident' by the former foreign regime of KMT," Wang said.
"If I, as a Taiwanese, cannot stage a protest against Lien's attempt to fawn over China, I'd rather die," he said.
As Lien is due back next Tuesday, Wang said he will take two eggs to the airport to welcome him back, but that he will go alone.
DPP Legislator Pan Meng-an (
Huang Chung-yung (黃宗源), of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), said that both the pan-blue and pan-green camps should be held responsible and he would like to apologize to the public on his party's behalf.
He, however, charged that the pan-blue alliance had colluded with gangsters to beat up innocent people, including seniors. He also criticized the police force for doing a poor job in maintaining order.
Echoing Huang's opinion, TSU caucus whip Liao Pen-yen (
"We had warned the police to be aware of the infiltration of gangsters, but they turned a deaf ear to our warnings," he said.
In addition to asking Minister of the Interior Su Jia-chyuan (
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book