Lesley Ma (馬唯中), the elder of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) two daughters, and her Harvard University schoolmate Allen Tsai (蔡沛然), who have been dating each other for many years, married in New York last year, the Presidential Office confirmed on Monday night.
The president thanked people for their concern and expressed the hope that the new couple “would be given privacy,” Presidential Office spokesperson Lee Chia-fei (李佳霏) said.
Tsai, a former model-turned-banker, now works at a financial institution in Hong Kong and the couple are residing in the former British colony.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lee said Tsai was born in Taiwan and went to the US when he was a child. His parents are retired and currently residing in Taiwan.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) yesterday said that she checked with the Ministry of National Defense’s Reserve Command Headquarters and Tsai, born in 1980, still retains Taiwanese citizenship, but has not served compulsory military service.
Hsueh said that if Tsai was an ordinary person who went abroad as a child, it would not be a big issue, but now Tsai has married Lesley Ma and he is an important member of the first family, his words and deeds should be subject to public scrutiny.
The president is commander-in-chief of the military, but his son-in-law has not fulfilled the required military service, which is a breach of the law and a violation of ethical standards and people’s trust, she said, questioning whether the Presidential Office’s secrecy about Tsai and Lesley Ma’s wedding was due to the military service issue.
“As leader of this country, President Ma should not set a bad example,” Hsueh said. “He should request that Tsai come to Taiwan and do his military service.”
In response, Lee Chung-ching (李忠敬), deputy head of the Ministry of Interior’s National Conscription Agency, said his agency has limited information on Tsai and from the known facts, Tsai had not completed his compulsory military service.
“However, it is not a case of avoiding military service,” Lee said.
All Taiwanese males (with the exception of those with a disability, or who do not meet the height and weight criteria, or who have certain medical conditions) must serve compulsory military service.
Later last night, Lee (李佳霏) said Tsai had applied for and obtained “Overseas Compatriot Status” in accordance with the law, so Tsai is therefore not “dodging compulsory conscription.”
Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) was also questioned about Tsai’s nationality at the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) said Tsai, who reportedly holds dual nationality and intends to continue to reside in Hong Kong, should be obligated to serve compulsory military service if he still holds Taiwanese citizenship.
Jiang said he did not know details of Tsai’s nationality.
“However, numerous cases in the past show that we are not able to make anyone who lives outside of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu serve,” Jiang said.
Meanwhile, in light of sensitive cross-strait relations and with Hong Kong being a special administrative region of China, several lawmakers questioned the couple’s safety. In response, the National Security Bureau said yesterday that Lesley Ma is not being protected by special service agents in Hong Kong.
According to the Special Service Act (特種勤務條例), the first daughter is not guarded by special service agents should she reside in areas outside of Taiwan and its islands, the bureau said.
However, should security concerns arise, the bureau would provide her with protection, it said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS