The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday criticized President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) decision to unfreeze the budget for the 228 Memorial Foundation, calling it insincere.
“It is clear the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] has boycotted issues related to the 228 Incident because of its ideology and Ma Ying-jeou’s decision to unfreeze the 228 foundation budget was only made because victims’ families were mulling a protest against him over the issue on the eve of 228 Memorial Day. I think Ma’s decision was insincere and hypocritical,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told reporters at a press conference yesterday.
Ma on Sunday promised to continue funding the 228 Memorial Foundation with an annual budget of NT$300 million (US$9.2 million) after the legislature, dominated by the KMT, froze last year’s budget and then refused to grant a budget for this year.
SUPPORT
Ma, who has long sought support from 228 Incident victims, said the government would make up for the previous cuts by providing an annual budget starting next year.
The president also asked the Cabinet to apply to the legislature to unfreeze the 2008 budget.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (李俊毅) told a press conference the KMT government should fund the 228 Memorial Foundation with the whole budget of NT$1.5 billion at once and allow the foundation to operate independently if Ma really wanted to compensate 228 Incident victims.
If Ma is involved in the foundation’s operation, he and his party will be able to manipulate it, Lee said.
Although Ma was making an effort to compensate 228 victims, he and the KMT still idolized the prime culprit behind the killings — dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) — and his decisions to reopen the Chiang Kai-shek mausoleum at Tzuhu (慈湖) and propose changing the name of National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall back to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was proof of this, Lee said.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said Ma decided to continue funding the 228 foundation to win more votes in elections.
KMT SUPPORT
Meanwhile, the KMT caucus yesterday threw its support behind Ma’s promise to continue the foundation’s funding, but a KMT legislator who previously proposed freezing the foundation’s budget expressed reservations.
At a press conference, the KMT caucus said it would respect and support the president’s call.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), who was present during the media conference, said the Legislative Yuan could discuss whether to unfreeze the foundation’s budget in the current spring session.
The 228 Incident refers to an uprising against the KMT that began on Feb. 27, 1947, and was followed by a bloody crackdown, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians.
However, KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who proposed last year to freeze the foundation’s budget request, said the government should instead review whether the foundation had achieved its mission of promoting harmony between different ethnic groups.
“Is it really trying to bridge the gap between different ethnic groups or trying to incite conflict and hatred each time Feb. 28 approaches? [If so], it is meaningless to continue to fund the foundation,” Hung told reporters.
When asked for comment on the government’s plan to reinstate the plaque bearing the title Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall by July, Wu said the government should prevent conflict while returning the plaque to the hall.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to