Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chiayi County councilors yesterday blocked the newly appointed head of the county's police bureau outside the county hall, accusing him of mishandling clashes between police and protesters during the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) to Taipei early last month.
Hsieh Wen-chieh (謝文傑) was only allowed to enter the Chiayi County Council after he apologized publicly for the melee by displaying a national flag.
Hsieh, who was the head of Taipei City Police's Zhongshan Precinct (中山分局) during Chen's visit, attended a handover ceremony presided over by Deputy Director-General of the National Police Agency Liu Chin-chang (劉勤章) yesterday morning, and proceeded to the council hall for questioning.
Dozens of DPP councilors blocked him at the gate of the council hall, while displaying photographs of police clashes with protesters during Chen's visit. They accused Hsieh of failing to safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty, saying his actions had caused considerable harm to Taiwanese.
The two sides refused to budge until Chiayi County Council Speaker Yu Cheng-ta (余政達) came out to negotiate. Hsieh finally agreed to apologize publicly for the clashes by carrying a national flag, saying he was willing to apologize if his handling of the matter had angered the councilors.
Forced to choose between a People's Republic of China flag and a Republic of China (ROC) flag, Hsieh said that he would of course choose the ROC flag because Taiwan is an independent, sovereign state and because he is an ROC citizen.
DPP councilors urged him to maintain public order and refrain from resorting to violence when dealing with the public.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was