The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday expressed indignation after the Delphi Economic Forum changed former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) title to the “former leader of Taipei” on its Web site.
The forum’s “deliberate use of a wrong title for former president Ma is profoundly inappropriate and uncourteous” for an organization based in the democratic nation of Greece, Presidential Office spokeswoman Olivia Lin (林聿禪) said.
The event organizers should correct the mistake immediately, Lin said.
Photo: CNA
On Tuesday, the Web site of the Greek forum reapplied the erroneous title for Ma, two days after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested the phrase, which prompted the organizers to recognize him as “former president of Taiwan.”
Ma has an obligation to uphold the nation’s dignity and sovereignty as a former president attending an international forum, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei.
“The forum’s use of the incorrect title was extremely impolite and insulting to Ma, and posed a test of the former president’s character,” Chen said. “I believe most people would not accept the invitation to an event that repeatedly changed their title.”
Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said on the sidelines of a legislative session that important public figures should refuse to accept belittlement of Taiwan.
If the nation is belittled and efforts to address the issue have been exhausted, then the public figure “will have to make a decision for themselves,” he said.
The ministry on Tuesday conveyed its stern protest to the forum’s organizers, saying that any act by a non-governmental group that debases Taiwan is unacceptable.
Ma should reassess the proprietary of his planned attendance at the forum in light of the organizer’s failure to rectify the incorrect title, the ministry said.
Ma Ying-jeou Foundation executive director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) later on Tuesday said that Ma should not be held responsible for the incompetence of the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) if it is unable to deal with the problem.
“Ma’s responsibility as a private citizen is to create opportunities that would let the world hear the voice of Taiwan,” Hsiao said.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident 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 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday 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 apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS