The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticized President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday for bowing to China by refraining from penning his official title or the name of his party in correspondence with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
“Is Ma some kind of magician? Whenever it comes to China, his title automatically disappears,” DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
On Sunday, Ma was declared the winner in the one-man race for the KMT party chairmanship, garnering 93.87 percent of the vote, with a turnout of 57.79 percent out of 533,000 eligible voters.
On Monday, Hu, in his capacity as secretary-general of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), congratulated Ma on his triumph via telegram. In his message, Hu referred to Ma as “Mr Ma” rather than using his title and expressed hope both parties would join hands in creating harmonious relations across the Taiwan Strait.
In his reply, Ma said both sides should “value reality, establish mutual confidence and shelve differences to create a win-win situation.”
Ma did not mention any title in his message.
The date on his letter also left out the national title — the Republic of China (ROC) — which , in general practice, precedes the year, month and day. Ma simply wrote “98 (2009) July 27.”
“What does '98' stand for? The unleaded percentage in gasoline?” Cheng said, adding that when it comes to China, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) did not even dare mention the ROC.
The DPP also urged the KMT to launch an investigation into allegations made by a KMT councilor in Taoyuan that the party had inflated the number of votes that Ma had received.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said the Presidential Office should protest to Beijing because Hu failed to accord the same respect to Ma in the exchange of greetings.
KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi (朱鳳芝) said Hu should send Ma another greeting after Ma assumes the chairmanship and call him “Chairman Ma.”
But KMT caucus secretary-general Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) urged the public not to over-interpret how Ma addressed himself in the letter as Ma had yet to officially take up his position as the party's chairman.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
RSS