Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday lashed out at former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for accusing the government of manipulating the public’s fears, while Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said that Ma should have a bottom line when it comes to the nation’s sovereignty.
Cho, who yesterday started campaigning in 73 constituencies for January’s presidential and legislative elections, made the remarks while speaking to reporters at his first stop in Hsinchu City, where he stumped for DPP legislative candidate Cheng Hung-huei (鄭宏輝).
Cho said he regrets the sarcastic remark by Ma and believes that it was a desperate attempt by Ma to rid himself of the reputation of putting Taiwan in a difficult situation.
Photo: Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Ma at an event hosted by his foundation on Saturday said that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been manipulating people’s fears using “dried mango strips” (芒果乾) — a wordplay on “a sense of the nation’s impending doom” (亡國感) — to her party’s favor.
“If the so-called ‘dried mango strips’ are true, Ma likely planted the mangoes in the first place,” Tsai said later that day.
The pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong should be taken seriously and Ma’s remarks are inappropriate under the circumstances, Cho said.
Ma should have reflected more on himself and on why China has had such huge leverage over Taiwan over the past few years, he said, adding that even so, the DPP had stopped criticizing him.
Ma should have stood with the government against any intruding forces instead of spouting sarcastic put-downs and it was clear to Taiwanese that with next year’s elections, Ma had gone to great lengths to steer himself from putting Taiwan through difficult times during his term, Cho said.
He said that people have never questioned Tsai’s stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty and national security, and that the DPP would continue to stand with her.
Cho refused to comment on Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) remark that “farmers grow mangoes; it is bad politics that cause real damage,” saying that it would only give Ko the attention that he craves.
When asked about Ko’s remark that the DDP has been trying to decrease voter turnout to win elections, Cho said: “He would never know what our strategies are.”
Cho is to visit every constituency in the nation, and when a campaign headquarters for the elections have been established, the DPP would make strategic deployments in places it believes would be tightly contested, he said.
Cho did not deny the possibility that people might cast their ballots for different parties in the presidential and legislative elections, expressing the hope that Tsai could exert greater influence on the public to vote for DPP legislative candidates.
Cheng said that the biggest threat to Taiwan is Beijing, whose “one country, two systems” formula leaves no room for Taiwan.
The sense of the nation’s impending doom grows when people stop upholding national sovereignty and Tsai’s remarks highlighted the bottom line Taiwan should maintain on this issue, he added.
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
Taiwan does not exclude the possibility of having formal diplomatic relations with counties that also have formal ties with China, regardless of Beijing’s stance, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Sunday. There was speculation in 2012 that Honduras was attempting to have simultaneous diplomatic relations with Taiwan and China, an idea that then-minister of foreign affairs David Lin (林永樂) rejected. Honduras severed formal ties with Taiwan on Sunday morning after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing. President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has taken a more practical approach to relations with like-minded countries since assuming government in 2016. Previous administrations took the
ORIGIN UNKNOWN: The Leofoo Village Theme Park and Taipei Zoo have accounted for their baboons, as authorities continue a 12-day capture attempt Authorities in Taoyuan are searching for a non-native baboon, possibly of the chacma species, that has been spotted several times in the city’s Pingjhen District (平鎮) over the past 12 days, and was most recently seen in coastal Sinwu District (新屋). The baboon was first spotted near a local factory on March 10 in central Taoyuan, Jhensing Borough Warden Huang Chih-chieh (黃志杰) said. Huang said he requested the Leofoo Village Theme Park’s help after a second sighting on Saturday. In other sightings, the baboon raided fruit and vegetable gardens on private property, and has evaded one capture attempt via a tranquilizer dart. Media reported