Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
"[The DPP] is a governing party that fails to make progress. It is just exploiting a historical scar and doesn't dare face up to the corruption of its administration over the past seven years," Ma said in Lishan (
Ma was responding to criticism the DPP leveled at the KMT on Saturday at a Taipei event to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the lifting of martial law.
At the event, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) compared the KMT to a "caretaker who harmed our people, raped our daughters and stole our property," adding that the public must not allow the "caretaker" to administer the country again.
Ma slammed Hsieh for his remarks, saying he "was surprised to hear Hsieh speak ill of others, because Hsieh is religious."
Ma also challenged Hsieh's idea of "reconciliation and coexistence," calling it "hollow words."
"The DPP is the governing party now. If it wants to attack the opposition, it should prove that the DPP can do better than the opposition instead of exploiting history," Ma said.
"The fact that the KMT was bad in the past doesn't prove the DPP is good now," Ma said.
"The KMT has stepped down [following the 2000 presidential election] and has reflected on its conduct during the martial law period," he said.
In response, Hsieh said yesterday while visiting Sanchong (
While speaking with 15 victims of political persecution during the martial law era, Hsieh showed them statistics over political persecution cases from the period.
The entire families of those individuals targeted for persecution also suffered, Hsieh said.
Hsieh said the victims should forgive their persectors but never forget.
"Those who forget history will be forgotten by history. Those who abandon history will be abandoned by history," Hsieh said.
"Those who have harmed others are in no position to ask their victims to forget."
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
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