Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (
"I take full responsibility for the full-page newspaper advertisement that the GIO ran a couple of days ago," Yao said at a meeting of a legislative committee.
"But I admit that it was not appropriate for Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Chairman Ma's [Ying-jeou (
CONTROVERSIAL AD
Yao was referring to the GIO's full-page advertisement defending the Cabinet's proposal for a national communication commission (NCC).
The ad said the proposed commission would be a neutral body and avoid politics.
The KMT insists that the commission's membership should be distributed among the political parties based on the number of seats they hold in the legislature.
The ad "requested" Ma's help in keeping the commission non-political, but many viewed the ad as insulting both Ma and the KMT.
"I am a government official who was appointed by the ruling party. I think it is quite natural for me to defend the ruling party's policies. There is nothing wrong with it," Yao said.
`SLACKER' ALLEGATION
In addition to coming under fire over the advertisement, Yao was accused of being a slacker during President Chen Shui-bian's (
According to reports in the Chinese-language media, Yao invited one of the stewardesses on the presidential charter flight out for drinks during the visit to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and the drinking session went on late into the night.
MISTAKES
The reports said that Yao made mistakes during his press briefings the following day and dozed off dozing during a press conference given by Chen -- actions the reports attributed to his night out.
People First Party Legislator Diane Lee (
Yao said Lee should not believe the rumors.
"I am embarrassed ... and I apologize," Yao said, in an apparent reference to being caught dozing off.
"As for the drinking part, I have said it many times before that the stewardess is the girlfriend of a good friend. We did not stay up all night, either," he said.
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TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
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