Reporters on the Legislative Yuan beat treated Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Wang turns 66 today.
Although he has yet to say whether he planned to vie for the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) nomination for next year's presidential election, Wang has made several hints at his intention to do so.
PHOTO: CNA
Wang said yesterday that he would do his best to live up to expectations.
"Heading to the Presidential Office is a huge responsibility, but if I had the opportunity to [be in office], I would spare no effort to do it well," Wang said.
While looking at the representation of the Presidential Office building on the birthday cake, Wang said he knew exactly where the president's office was located inside the building.
President's office
"I have been in and out of [the president's office]. I am sort of familiar with it," Wang said, adding that he had never been to the vice president's office.
Democratic Progressive Party legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
Former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Ma declined to comment yesterday morning on his behavior after a dinner hosted by Lien on Wednesday.
After a breakfast meeting with Jan Grotheer, president of the Tax High Court of Hamburg, Germany, Ma spoke to the media and condemned the removal of a statue of late dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
Liquid dinner
When a reporter asked Ma if he would drink as much at Wang's birthday dinner banquet later that evening as he had at a dinner meeting with Lien and Wang on Wednesday, Ma only said "thank you" and rushed to his car.
After Wednesday's meeting, Ma kept smiling, nodding and making faces as he stood next to Lien while Lien was being interviewed by reporters.
The footage of his behavior was broadcast on most local TV news channels and became a popular topic of discussion the following day.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS