Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday accused President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of incompetency, lashing out at his administration for failing to offer concrete measures to curb public apprehension over events such as the recent melamine contamination and the poor performance of the TAIEX.
Lee said that when the Democratic Progressive Party took power in 2000 it didn’t know how to govern Taiwan and the people had suffered as a consequence.
He then said that since Ma took office he had proved incompetent in everything he has done and again the people were suffering.
Lee made the remarks in a speech delivered at a world congress of The Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association Formosa held in Taipei yesterday.
Saying that the government should understand people’s safety is more important than anything, Lee said the government should condemn China and demand an apology since raw materials and products imported from China were found to have contained harmful levels of melamine.
Lee said Ma had not dared to condemn China and his silence had led to Taiwan being perceived in a negative light.
POOR PERFORMANCE
Noting the poor recent performance of the TAIEX, Lee went on to criticize Ma for neglecting the suffering of the public, saying the government appears at lost in dealing with the stock market slump.
“Taiwan is now faced with internal and external crises,” he said. “Under the leadership of the current government, Taiwan appears lost, like it is walking in fog and doesn’t know which way to go.”
Alluding to Ma’s definition of cross-strait relations made in an interview with the Mexican newspaper Sol de Mexico in August when he said that they were not between two countries, but a type of special relationship across the Taiwan Strait,” Lee accused the government of trying to do away with Taiwan’s sovereignty.
INTERNATIONAL ISSUE
Saying that the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty was an international one, Lee said the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Community Party must not be allowed to decide among themselves on how Taiwan’s status should be changed in talks behind closed doors.
Lee also slammed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
“Not long ago there came the news that a politician had wired money overseas,” Lee said, in an obvious reference to Chen’s money-laundering case.
“While it remains to be seen following the judicial investigation whether any irregularities have occurred, [the allegation] exposes how people can be corrupted in the middle of taking part in democratization and how some supporters can’t tell right from wrong but keep covering up [for politicians],” Lee said.
It is frightening when democratizers become corrupted and “love Taiwan” becomes a mere slogan, he said.
Also See: ‘Happy Mobs’ seek safety in numbers
SUPPORT: Arms sales to NATO Plus countries such as Japan, South Korea and Israel only have to be approved by the US Congress if they exceed US$25m The US should amend a law to add Taiwan to the list of “NATO Plus” allies and streamline future arms sales, a US commission said on Tuesday in its annual report to the US Congress. The recommendation was made in the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), which contained chapters on US-China economic and trade ties, security relations, and Taiwan and Hong Kong. In the chapter on Taiwan, the commission urged the US Congress to “amend the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to include Taiwan on the list of ‘NATO Plus’ recipients,” referring to
Taiwan yesterday advanced to the gold medal match of the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s (WBSC) Premier12 for the first time in history, despite last night losing 9-6 to Japan. Taiwan advanced after the US defeated Venezuela in the first game on the last day of the Super Round. However, the US had no chance of advancing to the championship game unless it defeated Venezuela by at least nine points. The US won 6-5. As a result, the two teams — who both had one win and two losses in the Super Round — are to face off again in the
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) said she would tender her resignation following criticism of her handling of alleged bullying by Ministry of Labor Workforce Development Agency branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容) resulting in the death of an employee. The ministry yesterday gave Hsieh two demerits and said she is subject to review by the Disciplinary Court. The severest possible punishment would be her removal from office and being barred from government jobs indefinitely. Workforce Development Agency Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) also received a major demerit and was transferred to another position. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) issued a formal apology
FREEDOM CURTAILED: The conviction of 45 democracy advocates proves the ‘unworkability’ of Beijing’s ‘one country, two systems’ model, the Presidential Office said Taiwan yesterday condemned China over the jailing of 45 Hong Kong activists, saying “democracy is not a crime.” The government “strongly condemned the Chinese government’s use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. International condemnation of the jailings has been swift, with the US, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the territory since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020. Yesterday’s sentencing “not only breaks the promises of ‘50
RSS