The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday raised questions about a notice issued by Taipei Municipal Wenhua Elementary School informing parents that classes are to be canceled on Friday to facilitate a security detail for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is scheduled to attend a joint graduation ceremony of six military academies that day.
Speaking at a news conference in Taipei, KMT caucus secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said that the elementary school was also set to hold a graduation ceremony on Friday, but was resigned to having to call a day off to accommodate a security detail for Tsai’s attendance at the graduation ceremony of the academies at the nearby Fuxinggang military base.
The decision has met with protests from parents, Lee said.
Lee criticized Tsai’s “arrogance” and attributed the school’s decision to take a day off to Tsai’s poor governance, which she said was the reason Tsai needed tighter security to protect her safety.
Comparing Tsai to an empress inspecting her realm, KMT Legislator Chiang Nai-hsin (蔣乃辛) said the school’s decision was startling in a democratic society.
He expressed amazement at the Taipei City Government’s approval of the decision to cancel a school day, while questioning Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) intent behind the approval, which could paint the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in a negative light ahead of November’s elections.
Ko is “incompetent” for agreeing to the Presidential Office’s demand that the school take a day off, KMT Legislator Alicia Wang (王育敏) said, adding that by humoring Tsai, Ko had failed his self-professed status as a “white” political force that transcends the pan-green and pan-blue camps.
In response, the Presidential Office denied having any knowledge of the school’s decision, adding that it had not given any instructions to the school asking it to call a day off.
There would be no traffic control on roads through which Tsai’s motorcade is set to pass, the office said.
The office said that it has instructed its security officers to contact the Taipei Police Department in the hope that the department and the school could make necessary adjustments to planned security details and traffic control.
While the graduation ceremony of the six academies is an annual highlight of the nation’s military, students’ right to education is of equal importance, the office said, adding that it is willing to cooperate by any means necessary to ensure that parents’ and students’ rights would not be affected by the president’s schedule.
The elementary school recently received a letter from the Beitou Police Precinct suggesting that it call a day off on Friday and agreed to the suggestion in consideration that no classes would be taught ahead of its graduation ceremony and that the event at the nearby military base would cause parents to be caught in heavy traffic when picking up their children, principal Chiang Chi-yu (江啟昱) said.
The elementary school decided to rescind its initial decision and make Friday a normal school day after consulting with the Taipei Police Department, the Taipei Department of Education said yesterday.
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
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