Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬) yesterday said that the Vietnamese government did not give any explanation for a series of difficulties she encountered on a trip this week.
Su and her entourage returned from Vietnam yesterday after a five-day trip to learn more about a pollution incident involving a Formosa Plastics Group steel mill in Ha Tinh Province, visit a Catholic orphanage in Vinh and purchase Vietnamese children’s books to promote mother-tongue education in Yunlin County.
Su said her passport was temporarily held at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, the group was prohibited from visiting the orphanage and they were followed on a trip to the steel mill.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“The Vietnamese government did not make any direct or indirect contact with us,” she said. “I still do not understand why my passport was held by airline clerks.”
Su’s passport was held for unknown reasons when the group was to fly to Vinh.
After Representative to Vietnam Richard Shih (石瑞琦) negotiated with Vietnamese officials, the group was told that they were not allowed to visit the orphanage, so they canceled that event and went to Ha Tinh by bus, Su said.
While media reports said that Su was blocked because the church is an “anti-[Vietnamese] government” organization, Su said she was totally unaware of the church’s political nature and they simply wanted to visit the orphanage for charity purposes.
“I do not know any so-called anti-government people or dissidents,” she said.
“I still do not know whether the church leadership are anti-government,” she added.
Brushing aside speculation that her passport was held because the group planned to visit places not listed on her visa application, Su said they went to Vietnam on tourist visas and they were never asked to provide an itinerary, so there was no conflict between the planned trip and where they actually went.
They were never asked to explain the purpose of their travel, but they were not given any explanation for the situation, Su said, adding that the group never met any Vietnamese officials, while negotiations were conducted by Shih.
In Ha Tinh, the group was followed by plainclothes police officers and they had to ask permission to visit places, Su said. The police arranged a visit to a head massage parlor and watched during the time there.
“It is impossible to feel comfortable while being followed,” she said.
Su quoted chemist Ding Guo-tsuen (丁國村), who was with the group, as saying that the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp plant is a world-class facility, but that could not prevent human error.
She said that even after the visit, the group did not understand anything about the pollution incident other than what was reported by the media, but she questioned the transparency of the Vietnamese government’s investigation.
Hanoi said the plant was responsible for causing a mass fish die-off in the province and downstream areas in April.
“We cannot reach a definite conclusion on the pollution incident,” Su said. “The Vietnamese government is obliged to make its investigation report public.”
Su reaffirmed her endorsement of the government’s “new southbound policy” amid concerns that the issues she faced on the trip might spell its failure.
The presence of Taiwanese companies is strong in Vietnam and Vietnamese are energetic and friendly toward Taiwanese, she said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or