Dozens of netizens vented their anger yesterday over what they said was President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “cold-blooded political persecution” of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) through “illegal, unconstitutional and inhumane” means, with some launching an online signature drive demanding the president’s immediate resignation.
The initiator of the signature drive, who identified himself as a swing voter, said that demanding Ma’s resignation was the “obligation and responsibility of every Taiwanese who loves this country and has a good sense of judgement of what is right and wrong, and of shame.”
“To take down his political enemies, Ma, despite being the head of state of this country, has resorted to illegal, unconstitutional and inhumane tactics and stepped beyond the mandate bestowed upon him by the Constitution by wiretapping the legislative speaker [Wang] and the leader of the opposition party caucus [Democratic Progressive Party caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘)],” the petition read.
Not only has the president tried to justify his illegitimate conduct, he has also used information obtained during the illegal wiretap operation to carry out a political vendetta against Wang and used his subjective judgement to unilaterally declare Wang guilty, the signature drive said.
“Ma’s behavior is the biggest disgrace to Taiwan’s democratic development and we [the public] must ask him to step down before the nation sinks into an indefinite period of darkness,” the petition said.
The petition had received backing from nearly 16,000 netizens as of press time.
Meanwhile, other Internet users also criticized Ma for reportedly saying that Wang should be stripped of his Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) membership for “tarnishing the party’s image and reputation” during a meeting of the KMT’s 15-member Disciplinary Committee held yesterday to discuss Wang’s fate.
The meeting reached a consensus to revoke Wang’s membership after deliberating for two hours and 20 minutes.
Sources say Ma, who is KMT chairman, was choked with tears as he made a 10-minute speech at the committee meeting, in which he said he was “too saddened by Wang’s involvement in illegal lobbying to be able to sleep.”
The legislative speaker is embroiled in an alleged influence-peddling case involving several prominent political figures, including Ker and former minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫), who resigned on Friday last week over the matter.
“It’s obvious that Ma has been trying to take down Wang since the very beginning. He [Ma] is such a hypocrite,” one netizen wrote.
Another said maybe it was the overwhelming joy of finally being able to remove Wang that had been keeping Ma up at night.
Some netizens also ridiculed the president for his unusually tough stance on the incident, saying that it seemed as if he was only capable of and passionate about launching political vendetta, instead of handling economic problems as he is supposed to.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
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