Entertainer Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰) yesterday apologized for making “indiscreet” remarks while stumping for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential ticket in Greater Taichung on Sunday, where she said that voting a female candidate into high office could result in calamity.
“I definitely had no intention of disparaging women by making the remarks and I would like to say sorry for giving an unsound example,” Pai said in a statement.
The controversy arose when Pai, speaking at a campaign rally for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his running mate, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), said voters should cast their ballots for candidates who are experienced in ruling the country and who have “good -fortune” like Ma and Wu, rather than for Democratic Progressive Party Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), or Taiwan might suffer from a disaster like the flooding that hit Thailand not long after the country elected a female prime minister.
Thailand was hit by its most serious flooding in half a century between October and last month. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected in early July, making her the first woman prime minister in the history of the country.
Pai said she would be more prudent when making public remarks in the future.
Ma said at a press conference that Pai’s remarks were “somehow inappropriate,” but that by offering an apology, she did the right thing.
DPP Legislator Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英) yesterday called Pai’s remarks “absurd” and “over the top,” adding that they not only twisted the truth, but also discriminated against women.
Huang also said the elections were “letting ignorance cloud conscience.”
DPP Central Executive Committee member Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) said he wondered why Ma kept a group of “dirty mouths” around him.
“The KMT is busy trying to maintain Ma’s image, but it doesn’t know that smearing and slandering by these dirty-mouthed people is only keeping the people at arms length,” Hung said.
With translation by Jake Chung
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
RSS