Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) yesterday apologized again for his criticism of Hualien City voters after the party lost a mayoral by-election on Saturday, saying his remark hurt voters’ feelings and the party’s image.
“As someone who has worked in politics for a long time, I sincerely apologize for making the remark more or less to vent my anger,” Tuan said as he made his first public appearance after he said on Facebook on Saturday that: “I can pretend to respect the election’s result, but I cannot pretend not to despise the voters.”
Following condemnation from KMT members and netizens, Tuan deleted the post and published an apology, which nevertheless accused the KMT of vote-buying.
He delivered another apology yesterday amid snowballing criticism.
Tuan said his remark hurt the feeling of Hualien voters and the electorate as a whole, as well as damaging the DPP’s image and the party’s supporters.
“I will make fewer public statements for the time being. I will continue to reflect on myself and deal with my impulsive nature,” he said.
“If the public is not satisfied with my performance in the legislature, I am naturally unqualified to reassume the position [of legislator],” Tuan said in reply to demands that he resign.
Tuan said he did not come forward until yesterday because he was still emotional and did not want to make another mistake, and neither the DPP nor President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) asked him to apologize.
In response to media queries on whether he had evidence that the KMT was involved in vote-buying as he alleged, Tuan said about 10 percent of the alleged vote-buying cases at the level of township elections happen in Hualien, and reports of vote-buying were numerous during the mayoral election.
He called on prosecutors to speed up investigationa into vote-buying allegations to stem the illegal practice.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
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