The war of words between Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) got even more heated yesterday, this time turning to foreign media outlets who have characterized Tsai as Taiwan’s “Robin Hood.”
Ma over the weekend mocked comparisons between the DPP presidential candidate and the popular folk hero.
“The foreign press has described Tsai as a Robin Hood-like heroine, but to my understanding Robin Hood should fight for justice, rather than spread rumors and set up decent people,” Ma said on Saturday.
Photo: CNA
Tsai was likened to a modern-day Robin Hood mainly because of the DPP’s piggy bank fundraising drive, while some have likened her election campaign to a Jasmine Revolution-type movement.
In response to Ma’s remarks, Tsai told a campaign rally in Greater Taichung yesterday that the heroic outlaw “only appears in times of failed governance.”
“People only look forward to the emergence of a Robin Hood-like figure when a leader is failing miserably,” she said.
It is not unusual for foreign news services to pay attention to Taiwan’s presidential elections, she said, as they have been monitoring every step of Taiwan’s democratization through the years.
The reason foreign journalists chose to characterize the presidential election in terms of “Robin Hood” and the “Jasmine Revolution” probably suggests they sense the change that has taken place in the country during the election campaign, Tsai said.
The “Three Little Pigs” campaign encourages participatory democracy — voters do not just blindly cast ballots, but think about social justice and speak out if they find something needs to be done by the government before they make their choice at the ballot box, Tsai said.
The changes represent the maturity and the positive evolution of Taiwan’s democracy, Tsai said, adding that she did not understand why Ma was so concerned by the foreign media’s observations that he had to bring them up repeatedly during Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rallies.
The piggy banks symbolize the “collective will” of Taiwanese to change the country, she said.
As for the Robin Hood description, Tsai said Ma should ask himself why people would look forward to the emergence of a “modern-day Robin Hood.”
“That’s because the government has failed to care for the poor and the underprivileged,” she said. “Instead, the government has spent too much money on meaningless projects.”
Tsai also denounced Ma’s shadowing strategy of imitating the DPP’s every move. She said there should be a change of government because the current leader does not know how to make his own decisions.
Ma visited the eastern county of Taitung, where local agriculture has been hit by week-long rainfall, on Saturday night after Tsai had visited the county earlier the same day.
The Ma administration also decided last week to overturn its previous proposal to raise the monthly farmers’ subsidy by NT$316 and opted to raise it by NT$1,000, which the DPP had proposed in a move that had been blocked by the KMT in the legislature.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS