With a strong police deployment and barbed-wired barricades set up to block a large-scale rally against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the Presidential Office and its surrounding areas felt like a ghost town during Ma’s inauguration yesterday in Taipei.
Although crowds took to the streets of Taipei on Saturday and yesterday to demand that Ma apologize for poor government policies, the streets around the Presidential Office were empty yesterday.
A taxi driver surnamed Huang (黃), who waited for customers at the Ximending MRT Station yesterday afternoon, described Ma as a “prisoner” who refused to listen to the voice of the people by keeping himself shut away in a cage.
“Ma hid inside the Presidential Office and blocked protesters because he is afraid of facing the mistakes he had made. They should have canceled the inaugural ceremony and saved us all the trouble,” he said.
A Taipei resident surnamed Lai (賴) questioned the sincerity of Ma’s apologetic comments.
“I just realized this morning that the inaugural ceremony takes place indoors, not outdoors, so what were the roadblocks sealing off a huge area around the Presidential Office all about?” he asked.
Faced with a growing public backlash against his administration, Ma seemed distracted yesterday. When he arrived at the Presidential Office, he walked ahead to greet foreign guests and left first lady Chow Mei-ching (周美青) behind.
He did not stop to wait for her until the poker-faced Chow said: “Can’t you wait for me? What is wrong with you? (很奇怪耶!)”
During the ceremony, Ma walked off in the wrong direction after he was sworn in, appearing to be confused about ceremonial protocol.
Meanwhile, an international press conference held at noon with more than 200 members of the local and foreign press in attendance, sparked disputes as some foreign reporters complained about what they said was a poorly organized press event. They accused the Presidential Office of screening questions in advance and favoring local media outlets.
“We flew all the way to Taiwan to attend the press conference and did not get to ask one question. They should not hold an international press conference if most questions are filed by local reporters,” said a reporter from Hong Kong, who wished to remain anonymous.
During the press conference, local media outlets pressed Ma on the public outrage against government policies. When asked whether he would offer a formal apology over poorly implemented policies, the president promised to reflect on government performance, but stopped short of giving a formal apology.
Commenting on Ma’s inauguration speech and his remarks during the international press conference, a foreign correspondent described Ma as: “A master of hollow slogans.”
‘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
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS