The government’s delayed reaction in launching disaster relief operations after Typhoon Morakot devastated southern Taiwan has caused widespread public rage and dissatisfaction, both in Taiwan and abroad.
By yesterday at noon, about 80 percent of Web users had voted “yes” to a CNN Internationlal online public poll question: “Should Taiwan’s leader stand down over delays in aiding typhoon victims?”
Meanwhile, a Web petition to initiate a “Let’s set a date at 919 [Sept. 19] to depose Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).”
The last character in the president’s name means nine in Chinese.
A Plurker nicknamed Xdite also called on fellow users of the Internet social platform to attend the upcoming National Youth Policy Forum, which is scheduled for Aug. 30.
Ma, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) as well as other Cabinet ministers are expected to make appearances.
Xdite called on other Plurkers to attend the forum, which will be open to 300 people aged 18 to 35, so that they can demand that Ma step down for mishandling the typhoon disaster relief operations.
Soon after Xdite had posted the message on his board, another Plurker replied: “I am worried that if I were to attend, I would be too inclined to throw a shoe at Ma at the event.”
On another online message board, a Web user posted a satire titled “Documentation on Emperor Ma, Chapter One.”
One passage of the fictious story reads: “Though many countries wished to come to his aid, Emperor Ma refused, saying, ‘though our country is poor, it can protect itself.’”
“The people were enraged, and pleaded for foreign aid in tears. After two days, the Emperor changed his words and said: ‘Where did the rumor come from? I never refused any aid,’” it read.
Addressing the Web protests, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said that Ma should have stepped down long ago.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that although she had reservations about the accuracy of the poll held by CNN yesterday, its result nevertheless served as a warning sign.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
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