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
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Celebrations marking Double Ten National Day are to begin in Taipei today before culminating in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on the night of Thursday next week. To start the celebrations, a concert is to be held at the Taipei Dome at 4pm today, featuring a lineup of award-winning singers, including Jody Chiang (江蕙), Samingad (紀曉君) and Huang Fei (黃妃), Taipei tourism bureau official Chueh Yu-ling (闕玉玲) told a news conference yesterday. School choirs, including the Pqwasan na Taoshan Choir and Hngzyang na Matui & Nahuy Children’s Choir, and the Ministry of National Defense Symphony Orchestra, flag presentation unit and choirs,