Despite criticism from all political parties and from residents of areas devastated by Tropical Storm Mindulle, Vice President Annette Lu (
"I don't care about those criticisms. No matter which people attack me, I am only concerned about my responsibility to history," Lu said. "We must show more respect to heaven, earth and humankind; then we can succeed in avoiding more natural disasters in the future."
Lu reaffirmed her idea that the Cabinet should organize a "special administration" to manage and protect the country's mountain areas. She also said that "The government must have an advanced immigration policy, because Taiwan is so small while the population is increasing quickly."
Lu made her remarks yesterday while attending the opening of an Aboriginal exhibition hall in Taoyuan County.
She said her purpose is to encourage Taiwanese people to develop enterprises overseas to expand Taiwan's "territory," especially when two-thirds of the land in Taiwan's mountainous areas has been over-cultivated in past decades.
"Premier Yu Shyi-kun has told his Cabinet to proceed in offering post-disaster relief, but I would like to lead the public to think about our future," she said.
Lu also suggested that the Ministry of National Defense should enhance military training to cope with natural disasters.
Lu's remarks failed to ease criticisms, and one new comment -- her assertion that Aboriginal tribes were not the original inhabitants of Taiwan -- provoked further anger from Aboriginal communities.
"Is the purpose of the vice president to try to demolish history?" said Aboriginal Legislator Walis Pelin (
Many Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators were worried that Lu may ruin the ruling party's chances in the legislative elections.
Senior Presidential Advisor Koo Kuan-min (
"I think that everybody is used to her inappropriate remarks, so is her new suggestion really so serious?" said Koo.
Koo said that after Chen won the election, "it is just like [Chen] is holding a bomb, when you don't know when it will go off."
"Under such difficult circumstances [as the storm], the government should do more than just talk, not to mention that the vice president's job is not to serve as a commentator," he said.
"However, just as it is impossible to stop the Tamsui River from flowing, one can not silence a vice president just by blocking up her mouth," Koo said. "She has to realize the duty of a vice president."
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS