Members of Democratic Progress-ive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) camp yesterday demanded that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) clarify whether he was born in Guangdong Province's Shenzhen or Hong Kong.
"How is it possible for a person seeking the presidency to have alternate versions of his birthplace?" Hsieh spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (
In an article published in a defunct magazine, Cheng alleged, Ma said he was born in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in 1950. This story was corroborated by other documents, Cheng said.
The spokesman also claimed that Ma had said during a visit to Hong Kong that he wanted to go to Kowloon Hospital to look for his birth certificate.
"Ma said at that time that he was born at the British-owned Kowloon Hospital, and that's why he was named `Ying-jeou,'" Cheng said.
Ma should give a clear account of his birthplace if he has nothing to hide, the spokesman said.
Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (
Cheng said yesterday that Yang had based his allegations on media reports.
When asked to comment on Yang's comments, Ma spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (
"They have accused him of being a US citizen and now they say he is a British citizen. We wouldn't be surprised if, next time, they said Ma Ying-jeou comes from Mars," Luo said, adding that a defamation lawsuit was a possibility.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard