A spat between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Policy Committee director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) office entered day three yesterday after Tsai criticized Ma for comments about the 228 Incident.
Responding to calls to punish those responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people during the White Terror era following the 228 Incident, Ma on Monday said at an event marking the 70th anniversary of the Incident that because Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) was president at the time, he “should naturally be held accountable.”
The extent of Chiang’s responsibility was up to people to determine for themselves by studying public information, Ma said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Tsai on Monday said that Ma is not in a position to assign responsibility for the 228 Incident, because he enjoyed “eight years of wealth and rank.”
“Ma’s small disciples” should be reminded that then-governor-general Chen Yi (陳儀), who ordered police and military action against protesters during the 288 Incident, was less corrupt than Ma, Tsai said, without saying who the “disciples” were.
Ma office spokeswoman Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) on Thursday said Tsai was not as righteous as his comments made him appear to be, citing a ruling that found Tsai had taken shares from Central Motion Picture Corp and registered them in his own name.
Tsai lost an appeal to overturn the ruling and in May last year was ordered to pay the corporation NT$170 million (US$5.48 million).
“If you want to talk about who is most harmful to the KMT, nobody can compete with Alex Tsai,” Hsu said.
She said Tsai was harming camaraderie among party members by making unsubstantiated attacks on former party chairpersons.
“Could it be that party headquarters is going to let its officials continue to run amok?” Hsu asked, adding that if KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) continues to indulge Tsai, it would be detrimental to the party caucus and negatively affect preparations for the May 20 party chairperson election.
Tsai said he is open to discuss his dealings with Central Motion Picture.
“However, you [Hsu] have to remember that at the end of the war, the one who would be most injured would not be Alex Tsai, but ‘he who is the greatest’ in your heart,” Tsai said, an apparent reference to Ma.
Tsai said that he was going to write a memoir about the Central Motion Picture case when he was much older, as well as a story about Somali pirates, “because both incidents involve ‘the greatest,’ but if you [Hsu] want to extend the war to infinity, I am ready,” Tsai said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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