A DPP legislator and a labor activist were both marched out of a press conference at the Legislative Yuan by police officers yesterday. The incident happened after the activist threw a piece of paper at the legislator, who had just announced that he stood by allegations he made Sunday against two labor organizations.
Branding the two DPP legislators Lee Ming-hsien (李明憲) and Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠) "McCarthyites," for accsuing organizers of a workers demonstration of "working for China," some 30 members of the Committee for Action for Labor Legislation (CFALL), (工人立法行動委員會) had gone to the Legislative Yuan yesterday to demand apologies.
They were received by DPP legislative whip Wang Tuoh (
Any hopes of a reconciliation, however, were immediately dashed when Lee Ming-hsien chose to speak first and declined to apologize for his Sunday remarks. He explained that he was not accusing the majority of workers; but he was accusing Wang Juan-ping (
But Lee's comments upset one of the CFALL members, Wang Yao-tze (
The two were immediately seized by a number of police officers and removed from the room. The press conference broke up shortly afterward.
Some 30 police officers were present at the event.
The CFALL delegation, speaking to reporters outside the legislature, apologized for the incident.
"We are sorry for what we did, but they should apologize for what they said," said Ho Yian-tang (
However, the two legislators told an afternoon press conference that they wouldn't accept the apology.
In fact, the two legislators reiterated that they stood by their accusations and said they would welcome the CFALL to file a lawsuit against them. However, they again declined to substantiate the accusations.
The CFALL said that it would respond to the two legislators' remarks at a press conference to be held today.
Wang Tuoh, meanwhile, told reporters that the two legislators' remarks were "inappropriate" and had been made by the men as private individuals. He said they did not reflect the view of the DPP legislative caucus, which, he added, would have nothing more to do with the issue.
The CFALL and CFL have traditionally had closer relations with the DPP than with other political parties. However a rift has developed between the DPP and the labor movement since the DPP formed its first administration in 2000.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
RSS