Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) went to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday to accuse President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and others of malfeasance in handling the flooding caused by Typhoon Morakot.
Tsai pressed the bell in front of the prosecutor’s office to hand in a petition that asks for an immediate investigation into whether Ma, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) neglected to perform their official duties, causing large numbers of people to become victims of the typhoon.
Tsai accused the three of causing irreparable damage to the people of southern Taiwan. All three have been widely criticized over their handling of the disaster.
Hsia was the first official to tender a resignation over the government’s much criticized relief effort when he claimed responsibility for Ministry of Foreign Affairs cable dated Aug. 11 that instructed overseas representative offices to reject offers of foreign aid except for cash.
“Immediate rescue efforts could have minimized the death toll caused by typhoon Morakot,” said Tsai, adding that the ministry’s rejection of foreign aid during such critical hours when the people of Taiwan needed help from overseas was a clear sign that the government did not put the interests of its people first.
Tsai urged prosecutors to act quickly because officials may attempt to destroy evidence such as signed documents.
In related news, a dispute over driftwood blocking fishing ports appears at an impass.
After inspecting Jiangjyun Port in Tainan County, Forestry Bureau officials said yesterday that most of thewood along the coast did not come from state-owned forests. They told Jiangjyun fishermen that question of who should clear the driftwood will be referred to the central government.
Fishermen said they have incurred huge losses as the woodpiles have damaging their boats.
“We are suffering from dual losses, with our equipment damaged and our fishing operations at a complete halt,” they said.
Many fishing ports and coastal estuaries have been clogged with thousands of tonnes of driftwood since Morakot struck.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
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