Faced with the public outcry and criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday pulled a cartoon designed to promote a proposed trade agreement with China.
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) had earlier apologized for the controversy surrounding the cartoon to promote the signing of an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with Beijing.
The ministry said in a statement yesterday that “personnel responsible for the cartoon campaign shall be reprimanded and transferred to other departments.”
Yiin apologized again for the cartoon yesterday, but said he hoped it would not distract from the crucial issue of inking an ECFA with China to aid Taiwan's economic development.
Introduced on July 20, the ECFA cartoon was criticized for ethnic stereotyping. Yi-ge (一哥) was described as a 45-year-old Hoklo-speaking man from Tainan, a vocational school graduate who works as a salesman in an unspecified traditional industry and who knows very little about the ECFA. His counterpart, Fa-sao (發嫂), was described as a 40-year-old Hakka woman from Hsinchu who works as a supervisor in a trading company, is fluent in English, Mandarin, Hoklo and Japanese, and is eager to learn about the ECFA.
Yiin again disassociated himself from the incident, saying he had no knowledge of the development of the two characters as he was attending the APEC meeting in Singapore at the time.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) welcomed the removal of the cartoon, but said the deeper problem was the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) habitual use of negative ads.
Acting DPP Spokesman Chao Tie-lin (趙天麟) alleged that the KMT had a track record of using negative campaigns, ranging from the use of profanity to public defamation. He also criticized Yiin for handing out demerits to officials who oversaw the project.
“On a large-scale project such as the [ECFA] cartoon, entry-level staff have virtually no say in [its creation]. Yiin is the minister and it was his ministry that published the cartoon, which means Yiin should be punished before he starts pointing the finger at others,” Chao said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志), who had accused the ministry of fabricating the results of an impact assessment report on the ECFA, yesterday rejected Yiin's demand for an apology and challenged him to an open debate instead.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College