Minister without portfolio-designate Chang Ching-sen (張景森) yesterday announced he would be closing his Facebook account, saying that it is “not a safe space anymore” and that “people should know I am not the person television talking heads portray me to be.”
Last month, Chang criticized the land justice movement on Facebook, in remarks that proved controversial and resulted in prominent advocates calling for his removal from president-elect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) provisional Cabinet. Chang later issued an apology over the wording of his comments, but stood by the content.
Premier-designate Lin Chuan (林全) on Friday said that he had “suggested” that Chang close his Facebook account after May 20, when the new administration takes office.
In the post Chang made yesterday, he said that he has been using the platform for five years to keep in touch with friends and network, and that he had maintained a “natural and honest communicative style that is just like I am with friends in private.”
He said that although “Facebook is supposed to be a private space,” when he became a “public figure,” his profile attracted unwanted attention from “paparazzi netizens” who “intruded like voyeurs by taking private conversations and comments out of context and without permission, distorting them to manufacture news.”
His Facebook comments had provided material for “people who are pissed off about Chang Ching-sen, the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party], Tsai, or just pissed off about the economy, the weather or everything, and need to release their emotions by bludgeoning someone,” Chang said, adding: “Facebook is no longer a safe space.”
Chang said that he could “be a phony” by “dressing up” his comments for the benefit of “prying ears” and use his profile as “a public relations bullhorn,” but “marketing” himself is not his “style,” and would “get in the way of making friends.”
The other option is to “take safety precautions” by “deleting all those people who are without loyalty to friends,” but since “people’s hearts are covered by their skins,” and he does not want to isolate himself from “different voices,” which he finds “inappropriate for a public figure,” he is to shut down his account instead.
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