President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said he has heard the public’s complaints about the government, and promised to try to improve its performance amid constant protests against him.
“We’ve heard the people’s voice, and we hope the people give the government more opportunity and time. There are things that we need to do immediately, and there are things that require a little time. We will do it step-by-step,” he said while attending the 13th National Prayer Breakfast in New Taipei City (新北市).
Ma made the comments in response to a protest held at the event, in which several people holding a white banner expressing opposition to several government policies, including the cross-strait services trade agreement, the forced demolition of privately owned houses for urban renewal and the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
Photo: CNA
The protesters kept silent during the protest, but were still asked to leave by security. The Presidential Office later accepted a petition from them.
Ma defended the government’s efforts to improve the economy by signing economic pacts with major trade partners and creating more investment opportunities for local businesses.
He also cited the government’s handling of the public discontent over the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘), who died on July 4 after he was confined and forced to do strenuous exercise in extreme heat, and said the government’s move to turn over the trials of military personnel to civilian courts was a positive response.
“This example represents the government’s prompt response to a request in a mature civil society. The government communicates with the people, and takes necessary actions to respond to their requests,” he said.
Later yesterday, while meeting with representatives of the electronic commerce industry at the Presidential Office, Ma said the cross-strait service trade agreement aimed to profit the whole nation, rather than a particular political party or industry.
“Our trade rivals have been speeding up their pace of signing free-trade agreements with mainland China and other nations. The advantages we created via the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement will disappear soon if we don’t catch up,” he said, calling for the approval of the service trade pact in the legislature.
The pact, which was signed in June and opened market access to 64 local service sectors to Chinese investment, has been under strong public scrutiny over what the opposition and representatives of the service sectors called lack of transparency and prior consultation.
The legislature went on to demand the pact be screened and voted on clause-by-clause.
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
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
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
RSS