Miao Te-sheng (繆德生), a retired colonel who passed away on Monday after being injured in a fall during a protest at the Legislative Yuan last week, was fighting for the Republic of China (ROC), not just pensions, veterans’ group 800 Heroes and pro-unification group Blue Sky Action Alliance said yesterday.
Members of the 800 Heroes and other groups opposed to pension reforms broke into the Legislative Yuan compound in Taipei about 6am on Feb. 27 to back their demand that the government halt its planned pension reforms for pensions for military personnel, public-school teachers and civil servants.
The 62-year-old Miao fell head-first from the third floor of a building in the compound as he was attempting to scale its exterior wall, losing consciousness.
Photo: CNA
Family members decided to remove him from life support on Monday.
“It would be an great insult to colonel Miao to say it was all about pensions for him,” said 800 Heroes chief executive Luo Jui-ta (羅睿達), who represented the Miao family at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
“Since the time of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Miao never stopped fighting for the ROC or safeguarding its legitimate government,” he said.
Miao was secretary-general of the Blue Sky Action Alliance, a hardline pan-blue group that says its mission is to overthrow the “false government” of the Democratic Progressive Party through a “revolution.”
The 800 Heroes are not just fighting for better pensions, said spokesman Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷), a retired lieutenant general. “We are fighting to protect the ROC by opposing Taiwanese independence, desinicization and the vilifying of military personnel.”
He urged people to stop attacking Miao and said the group would press charges against any attempts to slander him.
Ministry of National Defense official Liu Ching-chung (劉靖中) expressed condolences to Miao’s family and said the ministry has already held several meetings on pension reforms with military personnel, most of whom support the reforms.
The ministry would continue to communicate with different groups and individuals about the reform plans, Liu said.
Additional reporting by Tu Chu-min
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
RSS