While world leaders have condemned the storming of the US Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, the silence from President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) is cause for concern, former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) office said yesterday.
The US is Taiwan’s most important ally and the Tsai administration prides itself for maintaining good Taiwan-US relations, as well as being vocal in its support for democracy advocacy movements in Hong Kong, the office said in a statement.
Aside from a brief mention of “regretting the incident” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Tsai administration has been silent on the incident, which trampled the principles of democracy, the office said.
This might cause the administration of US president-elect Joe Biden to entertain the thought that Tsai, if she does not support the violence outright, at least condones it, the office said.
Heads of state around the world condemned the act, because no government that embraces the principles of a democratic system of government and the rule of law would condone a government building being overrun by violence, it said.
Regardless of their platform, no group should exceed the boundaries of the law, it said.
The office said that the united stance of politicians across party lines in the US to condemn the intrusion into the Capitol was in stark contrast to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose members openly supported a takeover of the legislature in Taipei in 2014.
In the Sunflower movement, a student-led group protesting the abrupt passage of a cross-strait service trade agreement occupied the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber for 23 days.
It needs to be asked why the DPP’s definition of democracy and the rule of law seems to differ greatly from that of the rest of the world, the office said.
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the