The Presidential Office said yesterday that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) trip to Kinmen would be paid for by both the office and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to prevent the public from thinking Ma does not distinguish between state and party affairs.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said fuel expenses for the trip would be split because six KMT officials traveled with Ma as he visited Kinmen, Hualien and Hsinchu yesterday because he attended party events in the latter two places. Ma serves concurrently as KMT chairman.
Ma traveled to Kinmen to mark the 60th anniversary of the battle of Kuningtou (古寧頭) in which Nationalist Army troops stopped the People’s Liberation Army from taking the island and threatening Taiwan proper.
PHOTO: PATRICK LIN, AFP
KMT spokesman Lee Chien-jung (李建榮) said splitting the fuel bill would set a precedent for separating party and state affairs. When president, Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) did not make an effort to institute such a mechanism when they doubled as party chairman, Lee said.
When Chen was president and chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), some entertainers even traveled on the presidential plane free of charge, he said.
Meanwhile, Ma stumbled verbally while stumping for Kinmen County commissioner candidate Lee Wo-shi (李沃士) yesterday, referring to him as Kinmen County Commissioner Li Chu-feng (李炷烽).
In Kinmen County, which has a population of about 85,000, seven candidates are vying for the county commissioner post, the highest number of hopefuls registered for one seat in the December elections.
The hopefuls include Lee Wo-shi and former KMT legislator Wu Cheng-tien (吳成典), who is running as an independent.
From his campaign appearance, Ma rode on a bicycle to Chen Tung Temple (鎮東宮) where he burned incense sticks and sat down to talk with residents. One resident urged the government to allow Kinmen residents to become legal owners of land and properties under their care for long-term absentee owners or land that is now sitting idle.
Speaking in broken Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), Ma, the Hong Kong-born descendant of Mainlander parents, said Kuningtou played a pivotal role in the history of the Republic of China because without it, there would not be Taiwan and the country would be ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.
He said his administration would study the land problems and possibility of increasing the compensation to residents who suffered losses during the battle.
Ma also pledged to eradicate vote-buying and corruption, saying during his term as minister of justice in 1993, he heard it cost NT$1,500 to buy one vote in Kinmen.
Given the island’s small population, it wouldn’t cost much for a candidate to purchase his victory,” he said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost