Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrew Hsia (夏立言) tendered his resignation yesterday, making him the first official casualty of the government’s highly criticized response in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said Hsia’s letter of resignation had reached Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄).
“I believe he will approve it,” Ma said at a press conference with foreign press yesterday.
Ma, however, did not hear the question right, as the reporter asked him whether he approved of Hsia’s resignation.
Separately, Liu’s office yesterday said the resignation had not been approved by the premier.
Liu had talked with Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) on the matter and would make up his mind later, Liu’s office said.
The ministry was put on the defensive last week when a cable instructing foreign missions to decline all forms of foreign aid except for cash was leaked to a local newspaper. The cable was sent out three days after the typhoon battered five southern counties.
The leak ignited public fury and criticism of the ministry.
At a press conference on Friday, Hsia said the cable should have included the phrase “temporarily decline,” and blamed the media for twisting the meaning of the document, which was meant to thank the international community for their offers and to instruct representative offices to encourage foreign governments to donate money instead.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and staffers inside the ministry said Hsia was a scapegoat for the government.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a ranking foreign ministry official said Hsia had to take the fall because he was the deputy minister, but that Hsia was not directly linked to the cable.
Hsia, however, has repeatedly told reporters that the question of who approved the cable was a moot point because any errors committed automatically fell on his shoulders while Ou was away.
The ministry also argued its sole role in the relief effort was to coordinate with other governments on aid and that it had no authority to ask for assistance because such decisions were under the National Fire Administration’s (NFA) jurisdiction.
The NFA, however, said it was never consulted by the ministry prior to the release of the cable.
The official said the ministry had kept records of communications with the NFA and was fully prepared for a face-off if it came to that.
DPP Spokesperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that according to government protocol, any such instructions must pass the desks of the premier and the president and therefore, those two should take the blame, not Hsia.
Hsia has denied Ma and Liu ever saw the document.
“Whether or not Ma knew about the cable, it was a huge mistake,” Tsai said.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said Hsia should not be held solely responsible.
“He does not have the power nor the guts to make such an important decision,” she said.
Lu urged the government to refrain from letting Hsia become a second Yu Wen (余文), a secretary to Ma during his stint as Taipei mayor.
Yu was found guilty of graft in August 2007 and sentenced to 14 months in jail for using fraudulent receipts to claim reimbursements from Ma’s special allowance fund. He was released on parole in April.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS