Accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of running the country in an arrogant manner, former Control Yuan president Wang Tso-yung (王作榮) yesterday urged Ma to reshuffle the Cabinet within one month.
“Growing up as the only son of a middle-class family surrounded by doting sisters, it is no wonder that Ma has an arrogant attitude,” Wang said.
He also quoted Ma’s wife, Chow Mei-chin (周美青), as having said that Ma’s downfall was his lack of empathy for others.
Change of heart
A member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) old guard, Wang had been full of praise for Ma last month. But a letter written by Wang that was published on the Chinese-language United Daily News’ opinion page yesterday reflected a possible change of heart.
“Ma needs to stand on the frontline [of the battle]. There is no such thing as a semi-presidential system [in Taiwan],” he said in the letter, referring to Ma’s stance since he assumed office on May 20.
Ma has stated that, based on the Constitution, the premier is the administrative chief and has the highest authority over most domestic matters, while the president’s responsibilities lie chiefly in diplomacy, national defense and cross-strait relations. Ma also cited the Constitution for his silence amid public complaints over rising fuel and commodity prices.
Wang said there were several examples of Ma’s arrogance. For one, he said, Ma named “a certain Taiwanese independence supporter to be the country’s top China policymaker.”
This was an apparent reference to the appointment of former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Lai Hsin-yuan (賴幸媛) as Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman.
Wang accused Ma of turning his back on the KMT to appease the pan-green camp by appointing many people from outside the pan-blue camp in various important posts.
He said Ma should use more of his own people, instead of trying to please the Democratic Progressive Party.
ONE TO RULE THEM ALL
A democratic society means one party is chosen to rule, Wang said, adding that the members of Ma’s administration should be chosen from the ranks of the governing party so that the party could shoulder its political responsibilities as a whole.
“But Ma won’t even pay attention to the legislature, even though it has a pan-blue majority,” he said.
Wang said that Ma was destroying Taiwan’s democracy and breaking up the KMT.
He suggested a major Cabinet reshuffle, preferably within one month, to allow more “suitable” people to be part of the team.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS