On the second day of the Year of Monkey -- the day tradition suggests married daughters visit their parents -- Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) visited the Chaofeng Farm (兆豐農場) in Hualien, greeting tourists with her congratulations on the Lunar New Year.
Wearing a light green coat with lotus images, Lu took pictures with kids and visitors to the farm and chatted with them.
Despite the Lunar New Year holiday, Lu said she is still busy. She visited 14 temples on the first day of the Year of Monkey and shook hands with more than 6,000 people, resulting in chafed hands, Lu said.
Lu visited popular tourist attractions in Hualien such as the Hualien Ocean Park, Kuanglung Museum and Avenue of Stone Sculpture.
Lu's pan-blue opponent, People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Soong visited Buddhist Master Sheng Yen (
Soong said he hoped religious leaders could end resentment and help Taiwanese society get rid of hatred and misunderstanding.
Sheng Yen told Soong that he believes politicians can stop disputes, create harmony and peace and bring the cross-strait relationship back to normal.
On Thursday, Soong went to four popular temples in Taipei along with his running mate for the presidential election, Chinese Nationalist Party Chairman (KMT) Lien Chan (
Lu went to the same temple, believed to be one of the most sacred in Taipei, after Lien and Soong had left.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen's daughter, Chen Hsin-yu (
Lien and his wife, Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), also got together yesterday with their eldest daughter, Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), and her husband. Lien's youngest daughter, Lien Yung-hsin (連詠心), who now studies in the US, did not join the reunion.
Lien said that one of his wishes for the New Year is to be a grandfather, but he said that he respected Lien Hui-hsin's decision not to have children yet. Lien Hui-hsin said she and her husband would let things take their course.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday visited temples in Ilan and campaigned for Chen.
Yu said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has carried out many construction projects and reforms that the KMT had failed to achieve. He called on people to continue to support the DPP so that the party can serve the people.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from