The membership rights of National Civil Servant Association honorary chairman Harry Lee (李來希) have been suspended following his controversial comments about New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said yesterday.
Whether his membership should be revoked or he be expelled would be discussed by the party’s Disciplinary Committee, it said.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Lee accused Wang of exploiting the death of her daughter — a four-year-old nicknamed Xiao Deng Pao (小燈泡, little lightbulb) who was beheaded by Wang Ching-yu (王景玉) on March 28, 2016 — for personal gain.
Photo: Shih Hsiao-kuang, Taipei Times
Wang Ching-yu was convicted of murder and the Supreme Court last month upheld his sentence of life imprisonment.
Lee said that Claire Wang was “stepping on her own daughter’s head” and that she had used the tragedy in her family in exchange for wealth and power.
Lee’s personal attacks against Claire Wang appeared to have been triggered by her support for the recall of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who is facing a recall vote on June 6.
Photo: Wang Ting-chuan, Taipei Times
In his Facebook post, Lee wrote: “Does [Han] have a feud with her?” alongside a screenshot of a Facebook post Claire Wang had made on Friday last week urging people from Kaohsiung to “go home and vote” next month.
Lee’s comments have been met with widespread condemnation.
The association yesterday distanced itself from Lee, saying his comments had nothing to do with it, did not represent the association or the position held by civil servants as a whole.
Lee retired in July last year and is not a member of the association, it said.
He was appointed honorary chairman after his retirement, it said, adding that whether that title would be revoked is to be discussed by the association’s board.
Wang on Wednesday said her personal loss should not be used as a political tool to create division.
Lee’s comments were malicious, she said, adding that comments such as his had not stopped since her daughter’s death.
As a public figure, she should be subject to oversight and judgement, but they should be based on her performance in the Legislative Yuan, she said.
Han wrote on Facebook that as a person with children, he could not stand Lee’s remarks.
Whether they support or oppose his recall, people should stop such hate remarks and prevent more arguments from occurring, he wrote.
A study published by online booking platform Expedia revealed searches for travel to Taipei have ballooned 2,786 percent following the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions due to the city being a “designation dupe” for Seoul. The TikTok trend for duping — referring to substituting a designation for a more inexpensive alternative — helped propel interest in Taipei, it said in a consumer survey titled “Unpack ‘24,” which was conducted from September to October in 14 countries. Location dupes are “every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true places travelers love,” Expedia trend tracker Melanie Fish said of the year’s popular alternatives, which
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
A small-scale protest that called on the government to cancel its plan to welcome Indian migrant workers in a bid to tackle Taiwan’s labor shortage was held in Taipei yesterday. During the protest, comprised of a few dozen people staged in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, the protest’s chief initiator, a woman identified only as “Yuna” said they wanted the central government to reconsider allowing migrant workers from India to enter Taiwan. Most people in Taiwan had little knowledge about the potential plan to allow in Indian migrant workers until a report in the media last month, she