Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) yesterday apologized to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his family for showing up at the funeral of Ma’s mother, Chin Hou-hsiu (秦厚修), on Monday.
“If my appearance at the funeral caused displeasure to and was a disturbance for the Ma family, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to them and accept the public’s criticism of my behavior,” Chen said at the Legislative Yuan.
The apology came one day after Hon Hai Technology Group chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) told a press conference that Chen was a man with a vile character and detestable qualities that made him “worse than a beast.” He urged Yilan County voters to recall Chen.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Local media reports said that Chen went to the funeral uninvited and voiced displeasure at the “inadequate” reception he received at the funeral home.
However, the DPP lawmaker insisted that he attended the funeral to honor Chin and denied throwing “a tantrum,” adding that the media had blown the incident out of proportion.
“My innocence is clear if you carefully examined the video clip, which shows I did not throw a temper tantrum,” Chen said.
Chen said he contacted the Presidential Office’s Public Affairs Office and the National Security Bureau before going to the funeral and stressed that he had not intended to offend Ma’s family.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) yesterday said that the party had condemned Chen’s “inappropriate behavior” and referred him to its legislative caucus to be disciplined.
“We recognize Chen’s courage in facing up to and admitting his mistakes, but he will still be disciplined by the party according to our regulations,” Lin said.
The DPP caucus is scheduled to discuss Lin’s actions tomorrow, Lin said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS