The Delphi Economic Forum yesterday corrected Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) title on its Web site from “former president of Taipei” to “former president of Taiwan” following calls from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ma’s office about the error.
The change was made within hours of the Ma’s profile appearing on the forum’s site, with the original wording prompting criticism from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said the mistaken title was inappropriate and a “serious error.”
Photo: screen grab from the Delphi Economic Forum Web site
Ma’s office yesterday said the invitation to address the forum had referred to Ma as “former president of the Republic of China,” and that it had asked the forum to correct the error when it was spotted.
Ma’s office said it thanked the ministry for moving quickly to request a correction from the forum.
“It is important for non-governmental groups to speak to the world even when President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government has been unable,” Ma’s office said.
Ma is scheduled to talk at the forum about how to achieve peace with China in ways that differ from the DPP’s approach, his office said on Thursday last week.
Ma’s seeming acceptance of “Taiwan” over “Republic of China” in the corrected title contradicts his stance that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means, DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) said.
Tsai’s “pragmatic diplomacy” has garnered support for Taiwan from a “global alliance of democratic countries,” while she has met two serving speakers of the US House of Representatives and secured an invitation to the APEC leaders’ summit, Su said.
“The choice put before Taiwan in 2024 will be to follow the worn-out cross-strait policy of Ma from Taipei or President Tsai of Taiwan,” she said. “The right choice cannot be more obvious.”
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
RSS