Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday accused President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of failing to restrain Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members and online supporters from insulting the late Kaohsiung City Council speaker Hsu Kun-yuan (許崑源), who died on Saturday night.
Hsu’s body was found after he apparently fell from his 17th-floor apartment, just a few hours after Kaohsiung residents voted to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), whom Hsu had strongly supported.
Chiang led attendees at a meeting at the KMT’s headquarters in Taipei in a minute of silence for Hsu before the meeting started.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Han’s recall and Hsu’s death were two hard pills to swallow for KMT members during a time filled with sorrows, worries and anger, Chiang said.
However, while Hsu’s death saddened his supporters and people close to him, a DPP councilor ridiculed his death with inappropriate remarks, Chiang said, referring to comments made by DPP Taipei City Councilor Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) on Sunday on Facebook.
Describing Hsu’s death as “horrifying,” Liang added: “Were the bets that high?” — an apparent reference to rumors that Hsu had engaged in underground gambling on the results of the recall election.
The post sparked heated online discussions about whether Hsu was involved in any illicit activities, and Liang quickly deleted the post.
He has since repeatedly apologized for making “baseless accusations.”
Chiang called on Tsai, who is also DPP chairperson, to hold DPP members accountable, and to stop allowing misinformation and slanderous comments surrounding Hsu to spread on the Internet.
“How can anyone continue to blacken a person’s name after he died? Is this the democracy of Taiwan? Is this what we want to teach the next generation?” Chiang said.
Tsai should launch an investigation into who had made groundless comments through fake accounts, he said.
Chiang pledged to carry the KMT through the difficult time, adding that the party must turn sadness into motivation in the face of the election of a new city council speaker and a mayoral by-election in Kaohsiung.
The KMT would demonstrate its resolve in reforming the party, and those who choose to lick the party while it is down “might as well just leave,” he added.
The party’s candidate for council speaker would be vetted thoroughly to ensure that they would work well with other KMT councilors and those non-KMT councilors friendly to the party, he said.
He had consulted Hsu’s wife on the issue on Sunday, he said.
As for the by-election, which Chiang called a crucial opportunity for the KMT to continue making contributions to Kaohsiung, the party was still searching for the best candidate, he said.
In other developments, Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) said that the DPP has expressed its condolences to Hsu’s family, and the authorities are continuing to investigate his death.
No one should ever make unfair remarks at the expense of the dead, Ting said.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS