President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday spoke about the unprecedented battering the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) received in the Nov. 29 elections, promising to work harder after the public clearly expressed its dissatisfaction with his government’s reforms.
Ma, who stepped down from the chairmanship of the KMT after the historic failure, told a national prayer breakfast that voters have used their ballots to send a clear message. The KMT won top positions in only six of 22 cities and counties around Taiwan, compared with the 15 it held before the elections.
In the last presidential election nearly three years ago, 6.89 million voters “were willing to give the responsibility of leading the nation to us, but we have not listened sufficiently to the voices of the people, which left people without enough trust in us,” he said.
“As the nation’s leader, it is my responsibility to accept this most severe of lashings, to accept this painful lesson, and to work even harder for the country,” Ma said.
He said the political landscape of Taiwan has changed in part because of participation by young people, which has “surprised and delighted the public,” because many had believed the young were uninterested in public affairs.
“It turns out they still harbor passion and hope for the nation... And I too am full of even more hope for the future of our country,” he said.
Speaking at the Christian-themed event, he cited the biblical story of Exodus and how Moses led the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, but God made him pass leadership onto Joshua before they reached their destination.
Just like Moses built the basis for the Israelites’ way out of Egypt, but could not take them all the way, long-term accomplishments are made up of the work of many people in many stages, he said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) yesterday authorized the execution of convicted murderer Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), the first death row prisoner to be put to death since President William Lai (賴清德) took office. Huang was to be executed via a firing squad yesterday evening, which would leave Taiwan with 36 convicts on death row. Huang on Oct. 1, 2013, broke into his ex-girlfriend Wang Ping-chih’s (王品智) residence in New Taipei City, where he raped and murdered Wang. He also killed Wang’s mother. Huang was bitter over the breakup and her accusation that he had stolen NT$200,000 (US$6,074) from her bank account, prosecutors said
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