Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his vice presidential candidate in March’s presidential election, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), will not attend president-elect Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) inauguration on Tuesday.
Hsieh said he was planning to join Ma’s inauguration, but he changed his mind after Ma and vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) failed to apologize for the possibility that they might not be able to deliver on two of their campaign pledges.
“[Ma and Siew] had said that they would raise the economic growth rate to 6 percent and commence their cross-strait charter flights plan on July 4. Now they have [said] that they might not be able to make them come true, but they didn’t offer an apology for this,” Hsieh said.
When addressing members of the US Chamber of Commerce on April 29, Ma said he might not be able to achieve the economic goals.
Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), the designated-chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation, said on May 8 that the incoming KMT administration is pushed for time to implement charter flights by July 4.
“Those were all important planks in the election. It is bad that [politicians] disregard policies after an election and don’t apologize for failing to put them into effect,” Hsieh said, adding that his attendance at the inauguration would foster that culture.
Su said he had already arranged to attend other events before receiving the invitation from Ma’s office.
Meanwhile, outgoing President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) will not participate in the ceremony either, the Presidential Office said yesterday.
The Presidential Office said Chen will serve as a one-day volunteer at the Tzu Chi Foundation’s resource recycling station in Neihu, Taipei.
In related news, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office’s office in Los Angeles yesterday said the inauguration would be broadcast live on the Internet.
The Webcast will be available from 8:30am to 11:45am on May 20 on pages english.www.gov.tw and www.gio.gov.tw. The Webcast will include the swearing-in inside the Presidential Office, the celebrations at the Taipei Arena and the inaugural speech.
Additional reporting by staff writer
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS