Retired lieutenant general Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) was yesterday spotted in the audience as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) cautioned against “separatism” at an event held to mark the 150th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s (孫逸仙) birth.
Xi praised Sun for the revolution against the Qing Dynasty, say ing that “the separation of Chinese territory will not be tolerated.”
During a live televised broadcast of the ceremony, New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明), Wu and other retired military officers were seen sitting in the audience.
Wu has recently been active in opposing reforms of the pension system proposed by the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), and, along with National Civil Servant Association president Harry Lee (李來希) and National Federation of Education Unions vice president Liu Ya-ping (劉亞平), formed a group to fight the proposal.
On Jan. 3, the group led more than 10,000 people in protest on streets outside of key government buildings in Taipei.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應) yesterday criticized the former officials’ attendance at the ceremony in Beijing, saying that participation by retired Taiwanese officials at a Chinese government event was an “extraordinarily ridiculous situation.”
Tsai Shih-ying said that Wu, as a former military officer, was responsible for the protection of Taiwan, adding that Wu’s attendance at the event in an “enemy state” raised the question: “Does he have Taiwan in his heart?”
“These men receive monthly pensions of between NT$100,000 and NT$200,000 and enjoy many social benefits in Taiwan, yet they take to the streets and go on TV criticizing the government,” DPP Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said on Facebook
“Sitting next to Chinese People’s Liberation Army officers and listening to Xi, do you not feel embarrassed?” Wang asked.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) said retired military personnel attended the ceremony not to listen to Xi, but to honor Sun, but added that it would be inappropriate for them to participate in military exchanges.
Ministry of National Defense spokesman Major General Chen Chung-chi (陳中吉) said that Wu is already retired, adding that the ministry had no further comment on the matter.
No comment was available from Wu at press time last night.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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,”
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