Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday concluded his round-the-nation trip with a final stop in Yilan County, saying that his final wish was to visit Yushan (玉山), the highest mountain in Taiwan.
“I’ve asked my doctor about [visiting Yushan] and was told that such trip would not be recommended due to my health condition. I’m hoping that my ashes can be scattered on top of Yushan after I die,” said the 90-year-old in Yilan. “Being buried on Yushan would mean that I would be with Taiwan forever.”
Lee, who retired from politics after 2000, began a series of nationwide tours in April last year, taking available time to visit every city and county — something he was unable to do before — when his health allowed.
Photo: CNA
The tours, which included visits to old friends, local business owners, hospitals, farms, industrial parks, as well as a trip to outlying Green Island, have been described as Lee’s “last glimpse” of the country he dearly cared for and loved.
Keelung and New Taipei City (新北市) were the only administrative zones Lee has not visited after a three-day trip to Hualien County and Yilan that began on Wednesday.
The former president offered his observation of domestic politics, saying the latest incident regarding food safety was further evidence of the incompetence of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration.
He was also critical of Ma’s personnel decisions, in particular his appointment of Minister of Justice Lo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) and Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達).
“Appointing my lawyer as the justice minister is not something I would have done,” he said.
Lo was known for her close relationship with Ma. When Ma was accused in 2007 of misusing his special allowance funds during his two terms as mayor of Taipei, Lo represented Yu Wen (余文), then a Taipei City Government staffer who handled reimbursements for the allowance, in defending Ma’s reputation.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a
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