The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday condemned what it called DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po’s (陳歐珀) “inappropriate behavior” at the funeral of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) mother, Chin hou-hsiu (秦厚修), saying that Chen would be referred to the DPP legislative caucus for discipline.
The DPP issued a statement after Chen went to the funeral early yesterday morning uninvited and expressed displeasure at what he said was an inadequate reception at the funeral home, which media described as a “disturbance.”
Chin died on Friday at the age of 93.
Photo: CNA
DPP spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said the party apologized to Ma about Chen’s conduct and immediately referred the case to the DPP caucus.
According to DPP regulations, Chen could face a warning, suspension of his right to attend caucus meetings or suspension of his party membership.
In a statement released later yesterday, Chen said he had contacted the Presidential Office’s Public Affairs Office and the National Security Bureau before his visit and that he had not intended to offend the Ma family.
Chen said he attended the ceremony to pay tribute to the deceased and “made a suggestion” to Ma’s aides that they should have made better arrangements for people who wished to mourn Chin.
He said he did not throw a tantrum and that his reaction had been blown out of proportion by the media.
“I hope the controversy stops right here. And I apologize to President Ma and his family if they were unhappy with what happened,” Chen said in the press release.
However, Chen was displeased with the way the DPP headquarters handled the issue, saying that no one contacted him to hear his side of the story.
Chen was also in the spotlight last week, when he staged his own hunger strike in support of former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung’s (林義雄) hunger strike against the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮). Chen was sent to the hospital after four days.
In response to the controversy, DPP caucus chief secretary Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said the incident would be discussed in a caucus meeting after a thorough investigation.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), Alex Fai (費鴻泰) and Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) accused Chen of discourtesy, with Wu saying that the DPP should formally apologize to Ma and his family.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
RSS