Opposition lawmakers yesterday lashed out at Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Chen, who advised the Cabinet to clear up the matter through legal procedures, maintained he has no intention of denying Sun's stature in history and dismissed the criticism as unwarranted.
"Chen is unqualified for his job by saying he doesn't know who the nation's founding father is," PFP Legislator Chou Hsi-wei (
At Chen's request, the Cabinet on Wednesday staved off a proposal to mark March 12 and Nov. 12 as the days to commemorate the death and birth respectively of the nation's "founding father."
Chen, known for his exactitude in dealing with legal matters, said he could not find any provision stipulating that Sun is the nation's founding father.
He suggested replacing the phrase with Sun's full name in marking the calendar before a law is passed to clarify the issue.
Calling the suggestion an offensive act, KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-wen (江綺雯) urged "conscientious prosecutors" to probe any possible negligence of duty on Chen's part. She pointed out that the Criminal Code outlaws any attempt to damage or vandalize Sun's portrait.
KMT Legislator Chang Tsai-mai (
She noted that there is no law referring to George Washington as the US' founding father, yet Americans never question who their founding father is.
Fellow lawmaker Kwan Yuk-noan (關沃暖) blamed the controversy on former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who he said aspires to be the founding father himself.
"It is time Lee restrained his disciples from making nonsense," Kwan said.
Chen said that by seeking to codify the founding father, he meant to better ensure Sun's stature in history.
"The term `founding father,' as it is used now, has no legal protection," he said. "If legalized, it would command more esteem and awe from the public and so would the person it refers to."
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The cosponsors of a new US sanctions package targeting Russia on Thursday briefed European allies and Ukraine on the legislation and said the legislation would also have a deterrent effect on China and curb its ambitions regarding Taiwan. The bill backed by US senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal calls for a 500 percent tariff on goods imported from countries that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports — targeting nations such as China and India, which account for about 70 percent of Russia’s energy trade, the bankroll of much of its war effort. Graham and Blumenthal told The Associated Press
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