The Executive Yuan yesterday denied that PFP lawmaker Kao Ming-chien (
"I think most of the people have missed the point here. The key to this matter is not from where he got the invitation, but how he got on China's recommendation list and why he accepted the offer," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
To straighten things up once and for all, Lin said, Kao should act like a responsible adult and explain the matter to the public upon returning from his trip.
Despite the imbroglio, Lin said that the government will continue to participate in future international events and medical cooperation programs, as long as national dignity is safeguarded and public health and security are ensured.
According to Lin, the National Security Council had expressed its concern over the matter and the foreign ministry had told Kao to stay alert and handle the matter. carefully.
"I hope he didn't do it intentionally. This matter only highlights the fact that China has never given up its efforts to belittle and suppress Taiwan," Lin said. "The public has to be aware of the sneaky tricks China plays and be scrupulous while dealing with it."
While the foreign ministry had originally planned to hold a pre-event discussion with participants, including Kao, Lin said that the ministry later decided against it for fear that it might lead the public and international community to misconstrue that Kao was one of the government's representatives at the meeting.
The delegates recommended by the government to the WHO were Director of Center for Disease Control Su Ih-jen (
Unable to handle the mounting pressure from the brouhaha surrounding the controversy, Kao's wife was rushed to the hospital yesterday and was later discharged.
Kao's office issued a statement yesterday afternoon, stating that Kao does not rule out the possibility of pressing charges against the media and government officials for releasing what he says is false information about him.
"We have documents to prove that Lawmaker Kao indeed asked for help from the government and did learned from the foreign ministry that he was one of the government's representatives at the meeting," the statement said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
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