Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰) yesterday called on Facebook not to “interfere in Taiwan’s politics,” after the platform suspended the account of an environmental campaigner for a “violation of community standards.”
Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng’s (潘忠政) Facebook account was temporarily suspended on Sunday for sharing a post about former Taoyuan city councilor Wang Hao-yu (王浩宇) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that reportedly made allegations about Wang’s sexuality.
Pan said he shared the post after Wang accused him of corruption, which Pan said was not true.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Although Wang on Sunday said that he had reported Pan’s account, Fai and other KMT members said that the suspension was the result of efforts by the “1450.”
The term “1450” has been used, often sarcastically, by some people, including Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), to refer to online critics as people who have been paid by the DPP to do so.
The KMT regrets the suspension, Fai said, adding that he hoped Facebook would “carefully review its decision.”
KMT Legislator Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said the party would collect evidence proving that the DPP was involved, and would “file a report with prosecutors and the Control Yuan.”
“The whole country is concerned about the referendum to protect the algal reefs, which shows that everyone wants to discuss the protection of the ecosystem,” she said. “A healthy democracy is a place where people can discuss public policy.”
Facebook said in a statement that the post contained language of a sexual nature involving minors, which was the reason for the 30-day suspension.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS