The Presidential Office and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday locked horns over the former’s decision to have President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) travel on commercial airlines during his upcoming Latin American trip.
While the Presidential Office said the use of commercial flights was an attempt to avoid the stereotypical impression of Taiwan as a country that “likes to flaunt its wealth,” the DPP said the Presidential Office was “saving a little money but losing out on upholding Taiwan’s dignity” by not using charter flights for the whole trip.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) told a press conference yesterday that the changes were made to “purge” the country’s international image as a “troublemaker” employing “dollar diplomacy.”
The use of commercial flights for segments of the trip would save taxpayers an estimated NT$30 million (US$987,000), he said.
Ma is scheduled to visit Paraguay and the Dominican Republic on Aug. 15 and Aug. 16. The president and his entourage are booked to take a commercial airline en route to Paraguay. They will fly to the Dominican Republic on a charter flight, which will then take them to San Francisco. The delegation is scheduled to return on a commercial flight.
Wang dismissed the DPP’s criticism that taking commercial flights did not correspond with Ma’s status as the head of state and ignored international protocol.
“Taking into account the economic situation, both at home and abroad, it makes sense if we can spend as little as possible to get the same result,” Wang said.
“What is more important is that some practical planning could shake off the country’s image of luxury and avoid creating the stereotypical impression that Taiwan is a country that likes to flaunt its wealth. This would also be useful in future diplomatic tasks,” the Presidential Office spokesman said.
Wang said a National Security Agency appraisal had concluded that it would be safe for Ma to take commercial flights.
In addition, the first-class cabin would be reserved for Ma and his entourage, the same arrangement that was used when the former vice president and premier went abroad on commercial airlines, he said.
While former officials’ delegations included hundreds of people and needed more than three hours to check in luggage, Wang said the Presidential Office would tightly restrict the number of people accompanying Ma while keeping the inconvenience caused to other passengers to the minimum.
Regarding Ma’s transits through Los Angeles on his way to Latin America and through San Francisco on his way back, Wang urged the public to refrain from complicating matters.
“Stopovers are just a part of the trip, not the purpose,” he said. “We hope to make everything as simple as possible. Both the US and Taiwan feel the trip should be conducted according to the principles of ‘safety, comfort, convenience and dignity.’”
The DPP held a separate press conference yesterday morning, where it accused Ma of damaging the country’s dignity by using commercial flights rather than special charter flights for his first overseas trip as head of state.
“The decision to use commercial flights is in accordance with Ma’s ‘diplomatic truce’ with China and is imperiling Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts,” DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
Chen said that, in the face of China’s oppression, “head of state diplomacy (元首外交)” has been the core of Taiwan’s diplomatic efforts.
“But Ma’s so-called low-profile overseas trip could leave Taiwan’s allies with the impression that the country does not assert its diplomatic ties,” Chen said.
Saying that security was the most important concern in a presidential trip abroad, Chen said the Presidential Office was emphasizing how much money the government could save, but skimping on the security issue.
Using commercial flights and traveling with other passengers could increase the security risks of the trip, he said.
“Ma’s move only improves his personal image of frugality, but not that of the nation,” DPP Cultural and Publicity Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said.
The move was intended to mask Ma and the government’s poor performance, he said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
AFTERMATH: The Taipei City Government said it received 39 minor incident reports including gas leaks, water leaks and outages, and a damaged traffic signal A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Taiwan’s northeastern coast late on Saturday, producing only two major aftershocks as of yesterday noon, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The limited aftershocks contrast with last year’s major earthquake in Hualien County, as Saturday’s earthquake occurred at a greater depth in a subduction zone. Saturday’s earthquake struck at 11:05pm, with its hypocenter about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km. Shaking was felt in 17 administrative regions north of Tainan and in eastern Taiwan, reaching intensity level 4 on Taiwan’s seven-tier seismic scale, the CWA said. In Hualien, the
RSS