After the pan-blue camp's landslide victory in the Hualien County Commissioner by-election, the Minister of the Interior Yu Chen-hsien (
People -- from his comrades in DPP to the members of the opposition KMT and PFP parties -- believe that because of intensive crackdown on bribery, Yu should be responsible for the result.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"The DPP campaign tactics in the by-election were too crude, especially the bribery crackdown ordered by Yu," said TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
"We have to thank Minister Yu. He helped us win the election," said commissioner-elect Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山).
Yu has been a man of controversy since he began his political career at the age of 28 as a lawmaker from Kaohsiung County, where his family, one of the largest political factions there, has dominated for decades.
As the grandson of Yu Teng-fa (余登發), a major figure in the fight for Taiwanese democracy, Yu was destined to be deeply connected with the DPP. After his seven-year legislative career, Yu was elected Kaohsiung County Magistrate, succeeding his mother Yu Chen Yueh-ying (余陳月瑛).
After President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was elected in 2000, Yu was appointed interior minister with other consecutive appointments for a slew of his family members: His mother obtained the post of senior presidential advisor and his sister, Yu Ling-ya, became Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council Speaker. His wife Cheng Kui-lien (鄭貴蓮) and his brother Yu Jan-daw (余政道) were nominated by the DPP to run for the legislature. Both succeeded.
Some claimed that his family achieved their political goals with presidential guanxi, not by what they have done for this nation.
After he was named to manage Taiwan's interior affairs, Yu made numerous promises, drawing a lot of fire -- and he was not hesitant to return his own volley of invective.
His promise to bring the nation's growing crime rate to a dead stop was called a "bluff" by some lawmakers. To Yu's discredit, the rate continued on its upward slope.
In March, Yu touted his idea that the government provide illegal Chinese female immigrants with abortions, and idea which drew strong objections from religious groups.
When it was discovered that Yu made use of a police car to pick up his elementary school children earlier this year, declaring that he just wanted "to protect his children."
Yu is also a sports fanatic, and maybe the most renowned baseball fan in the Cabinet. The minister never forgets to assist baseball players with their problems and does whatever he can to make baseball in Taiwan prosper.
But his "sportsmanship" has also caused him strike out several times.
In November last year, the minister was absent from a Legislative Yuan hearing and was later found to be attending a baseball series in South Korea. Lawmakers, angered by what they viewed as dereliction of duty, showed a live TV broadcast of Yu attending one game of the series to the public.
Some of his subordinates think their boss is a responsible man with guts on a quest for efficient government, but some think otherwise.
"He is an idiot minister, doing stupid things," said a civil servant contemptuously who asked not to be identified.
The DPP Standing Committee will have a meeting today to review the Hualien by-election results and name winners and sinners. Yu may not be the only scapegoat named in the interest of party solidarity, but his leadership style and track record is bound to result in him being cast as a disputatious politician in the history books.
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
RSS