Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday panned Vice President Chen Chien-jen’s (陳建仁) apology for taking a vacation while southern Taiwan was mired in floodwater after days of heavy rain, urging him to step down.
The Chinese-language United Daily News on Monday reported that Chen was on a family vacation in Kinmen from Thursday to Saturday, and that he had donned a cap and a mask while visiting several tourist sites, but was recognized due to the large entourage escorting him.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has sparked a number of controversies amid the flooding, including President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday traveling in a CM-32 “Clouded Leopard” armored vehicle to survey the flooding in Chiayi County’s Budai Township (布袋) and Premier William Lai (賴清德) a day earlier saying that critics of the government’s handling of the flooding “can play god and see whether they can prevent the same amount of rain from flooding these places,” KMT caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) told a news conference.
Chen’s vacation on Kinmen was the most staggering of the controversies, he said.
Accusing the Tsai administration of “callousness” toward public lives being at risk, Tseng said the caucus does not accept Chen’s apology and he should resign.
A vice president going on vacation under normal circumstances will not be reprimanded, but Chen had “picked the wrong time and the wrong place,” KMT caucus vice secretary-general Ko Chin-en (柯志恩) said.
Chen did not attend the commemoration ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the 823 Artillery Bombardment on Kinmen on Wednesday last week, but went there a day later on a private trip, Ko said.
Former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and former Executive Yuan secretary-general Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川) resigned over the heavy casualties caused by Typhoon Morakot in 2009, Ko said, urging Chen to do the same.
Liu and Hsueh were censured by the then-opposition DPP because Liu went for a haircut and Hsueh dined with his father-in-law when Typhoon Morakot was battering the nation, but when Chen went sightseeing in Kinmen during the flood, the DPP remained silent, she said.
The DPP should not apply double standards to political appointees, and Chen should know when to quit, she said.
The KMT caucus would spare no effort to hold Chen and Lai accountable over the flooding problems and demand that the two step down, KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) added.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS