Well-known for her active role in campaigning for her younger brother during elections, Ma Yi-nan (
Ma Ying-jeou confirmed a story in Next Magazine last month that Ma Yi-nan met Chang An-le (張安樂), the former leader of the Bamboo Union gang who is wanted by Taiwanese authorities, at a campaign party last year held by Taiwanese businesspeople in Shenzhen, China.
Although Ma Ying-jeou denied receiving political donations from Chang and claimed that he had no knowledge of the meeting, his sister's move drew harsh criticism from the pan-green camp for her soliciting support from criminals.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential hopeful Frank Hsieh's (
The controversy surrounding Ma Yi-nan continued when Hsieh's camp dug up her past and lashed out at her again for breaking the law in 1968 when she took the Joint College Entrance Examination for another examinee during her senior year at National Taiwan University's Department of English.
Ma Ying-jeou acknowledged the incident, and said his sister had been "severely admonished" by their father for her "wild past."
He said he was still trying to determine whether Ma Yi-nan's past would have a negative impact on his electoral performance, but Ma's camp has asked Ma Yi-nan to avoid attending recent campaign events and discussing the disputes with the press.
Before all the recent controversy, Ma Yi-nan was a popular figure at KMT campaign events.
Especially as Ma Ying-jeou's wife, Chow Mei-ching (周美青), insists on detaching herself from her husband's public life, Ma Yi-nan became Ma Ying-jeou's "other half," accompanying him to almost all of his campaign events or campaigning for other pan-blue figures on his behalf since Ma Ying-jeou ran in the Taipei mayoral election in 1998.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ju (賴素如), who has developed a close relationship with Ma Yi-nan since she helped campaign for him over 10 years ago, described Ma Yi-nan as "passionate, chivalrous and outspoken."
"She is a warm and enthusiastic person, like a big sister," Lai said.
Ma Yi-nan, 67 years old, is 10 years older than Ma Ying-jeou, and has three other sisters.
Ma Ying-jeou's late father Ma Ho-ling (
Being the eldest sister in the family, Lai said Ma Yi-nan, nicknamed "big sister Ma," liked to take care of others, and her willingness to offer help made her very popular among party members.
"But she is not a politician. Most of the trouble she caused was because she is not familiar with political language," Lai said.
Earlier in January, Ma Ying-jeou denied an accusation from the Hsieh camp that he had received NT$500,000 (US$16,000) in political donations from The National Association of Architects, but Ma Yi-nan said during a telephone interview with CTI TV that her brother received political donations from biotechnology and pharmaceuticals associations.
Lee Shiao-feng (李筱峰), a professor of Taiwanese history at National Taipei University of Education, condemned Ma Yi-nan for getting involved in Ma Ying-jeou's campaign.
Lee said Ma Yi-nan's controversial past and a lack of political savvy made her a troublemaker, although recent incidents surrounding her should not have a huge impact on Ma Ying-jeou's campaign.
"It's a divided society, and we have either pan-blue or pan-green voters," Lee said. "Pan-blue voters will support Ma Ying-jeou despite his controversial sister."
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as