Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) yesterday apologized again for his criticism of Hualien City voters after the party lost a mayoral by-election on Saturday, saying his remark hurt voters’ feelings and the party’s image.
“As someone who has worked in politics for a long time, I sincerely apologize for making the remark more or less to vent my anger,” Tuan said as he made his first public appearance after he said on Facebook on Saturday that: “I can pretend to respect the election’s result, but I cannot pretend not to despise the voters.”
Following condemnation from KMT members and netizens, Tuan deleted the post and published an apology, which nevertheless accused the KMT of vote-buying.
He delivered another apology yesterday amid snowballing criticism.
Tuan said his remark hurt the feeling of Hualien voters and the electorate as a whole, as well as damaging the DPP’s image and the party’s supporters.
“I will make fewer public statements for the time being. I will continue to reflect on myself and deal with my impulsive nature,” he said.
“If the public is not satisfied with my performance in the legislature, I am naturally unqualified to reassume the position [of legislator],” Tuan said in reply to demands that he resign.
Tuan said he did not come forward until yesterday because he was still emotional and did not want to make another mistake, and neither the DPP nor President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) asked him to apologize.
In response to media queries on whether he had evidence that the KMT was involved in vote-buying as he alleged, Tuan said about 10 percent of the alleged vote-buying cases at the level of township elections happen in Hualien, and reports of vote-buying were numerous during the mayoral election.
He called on prosecutors to speed up investigationa into vote-buying allegations to stem the illegal practice.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS