President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday visited Taipei’s Longshan Temple to distribute more of his “Taiwan talismans” to supporters as he seeks to counter Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “three little pigs” campaign.
Swamped by supporters of his re-election bid at the historical temple in Wanhua District (萬華), Ma performed a temple ritual by holding the talismans above a smoking incense burner, which symbolized the passing of the gods’ blessing to the talismans, and then distributed 1,000 talismans to people waiting in line.
Speaking to supporters and visitors at the temple, Ma said bringing peace and good fortune to the nation remained his top priority, and the talismans reflected his efforts to protect the people.
Photo: CNA
“Living safe and well is a blessing every family hopes for, and the government’s effort on solving people’s problems is the best way to bring them safety and fortune,” he said.
Several hundred of supporters chanted “Ma Ying-jeou, tong-suan (‘get elected’ in Hoklo, which also known as Taiwanese)” while Ma was handing out the talismans.
The temple has long been a major venue for pan-green politicians because Wanhua is a pan-green stronghold. Outside the temple, a group of pan-green supporters voiced their support for Tsai, giving the thumbs down as Ma left.
The president later distributed about 5,000 talismans to supporters in Taitung County as he launched his campaign headquarters in that county.
The talismans are red, with Chinese characters for “Taiwan Peace” written on them. Ma’s re-election campaign office designed them as a campaign souvenir after Ma received a talisman from a Greater Taichung resident during his homestay there last Saturday.
Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), deputy executive director of Ma’s campaign, said the campaign office has begun mass production of the talismans because of their popularity among pan-blue supporters, and the camp will distribute a total of 100,000.
While many see the talisman handouts as a way to counter Tsai’s “three little pigs” piggy banks promotion, Lo said the idea was to give blessings to the people.
“The talisman also serves as a reminder for the government to protect the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) continued to slam Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) of the DPP for helping Tsai’s campaign by allowing her campaign merchandise to be stored in the county government building.
KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) said the discovery of Tsai campaign merchandise, including T-shirts and hats, proved that Chang had abused public resources and failed to maintain administrative neutrality.
Lai urged Chang and the DPP to explain the matter.
On Thursday Chang released a statement saying it had been “extremely inappropriate” to store the merchandise in the building.
Offering an apology when she was questioned by county councilors, Chang said she has ordered the items removed and would refer the case to the county government’s ethics office for investigation.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all