Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday demanded an apology from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"He made himself an enemy of human rights," DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) said. "Despite his advocacy of human rights and the rule of law, I have a Chinese proverb for him: The weasel goes to pay his respects to the hen -- not with the best of intentions."
Producing a copy of what she said was an official letter issued by then presidential secretary-general Ma Chi-chuang (
Ma, who graduated from Harvard University's law school, had previously worked as an intern for a law firm in New York.
The letter said that Ma, a recipient of the KMT's Chungshan Scholarship, was "loyal to the party and loved his country" and "organized various patriotic activities."
Pointing out that Ma had described former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (
The Kaohsiung Incident, also known as the Formosa Incident, refers to the police crackdown on a peaceful rally to mark Human Rights Day. The Dec. 10, 1979, event is generally recognized as an important turning point in the nation's democratization.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠) showed a picture printed in a book that she said proved that Ma was gathering information for the KMT administration in exchange for his scholarship.
The photograph was taken in Boston on Jan. 28, 1978, and shows Ma leaving the scene of a demonstration organized to protest against a fixed election in Taiwan.
"Many people were blacklisted by the KMT administration as a result of tip-offs Ma provided," Yen said. "Ma has not apologized to the people of Taiwan, nor to those who were persecuted as a result of information he provided."
Yen called on Ma to face up to the past and apologize for his behavior, saying that if he failed to do so, he was not fit to run in the presidential election in 2008.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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