The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday urged President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to use the presidential jet to get around the country instead of public transportation, which it said tended to result in a waste of money and public resources.
The caucus made the call in response to a report published in the latest issue of Next Magazine, which said that Ma spent NT$300 million (US$9.9 million) by leading government officials on a trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung on the high-speed rail to celebrate his inauguration on May 20.
It reported that 12,000 security personnel had been deployed to protect Ma and foreign dignitaries during the trip.
“It cost NT$300 million to pay for the outing, including the high speed railway tickets, fuel for special agents’ vehicles, police vehicles, ships and helicopters,” DPP deputy whip Pan Meng-an (潘孟安) told a press conference. “Was he [Ma] saving money and energy? I do not think so.”
The Presidential Office later yesterday rejected the magazine’s report as “pompous” and “false.”
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) told a media conference that Ma had in fact saved taxpayers money by taking the high-speed rail.
Although the legislature had earmarked a total of NT$50 million for the inauguration and celebrations, the total cost of the activities was NT$38 million, saving the treasury more than NT$10 million, Wang said.
He said the financial and environmental impact of using the presidential jet for the trip to Kaohsiung would have been much higher.
Wang said that only 1,200 security agents — not 12,000 — had been dispatched to protect the 100 guests who accompanied Ma on the high-speed rail.
He added that this was an expense that would only occur once every four years.
“President Ma will continue to take the high-speed rail if it is not absolutely necessary to take the plane,” Wang said.
As Ma is planning to visit Tainan and Kaohsiung on Saturday and Sunday, Wang said that the president would most likely to take the high-speed rail again.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS