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This past week was a relatively light news week in Taiwan… that’s because of the four-day Dragon Boat Festival Weekend that began on Thursday. President Tsai Ing-wen was seen on Thursday making holiday sticky rice treats for the public.
The president visited Gongliao on Taiwan’s northern coast in what has become a holiday tradition for her since 2010. She and a group of local women made zongzi – which are the traditional Dragon Boat Festival dumplings of sticky rice usually wrapped in bamboo leaves.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister David Lee told the legislature on Wednesday that President Tsai will visit Panama and Paraguay in June. Both nations have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Lee said President Tsai will pass through the United States prior to arriving in the two South American nations. US officials have said they will accord Tsai with treatment that is usually reserved for such transits.
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Also this past week, Taiwan Power Company was continuing to deal with concerns about the nation’s energy supply as we face the hot summer months.
Premier Lin Chuan said there won’t be any assessment on the possibility of reactivating the number one reactor of the First Nuclear Power Plant unless the government has exhausted all other options and the public reaches a consensus on the issue. The reactor was shut down for repairs 17 months ago.
When asked about the possibility of an insufficient energy supply during the highly demanding summer months, a chief engineer for Taipower said there is a chance that the government will periodically limit the public’s power usage. He said that would depend on weather conditions and the status of other reactors.
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And finally, this past week, public outrage erupted after a video surfaced of a self-proclaimed citizen journalist insulting an elderly veteran.
The so-called “citizen journalist”, Hung Su-chu, has come under fire for using hate speech in a video she posted on Facebook on Thursday. The video was shot in a Kaohsiung park and shows Hung shouting at the Chinese-born veteran, telling him to “go back to China.”
DPP spokesman Ruan Jhao-syong said on Friday that the DPP condemns the irresponsible behavior. He said that Hung was deliberately trying to use hate speech to trigger animosity between different communities.
Ruan said Taiwan is a democracy and that no citizen should be subjected to discrimination on the basis of their political beliefs or country of origin.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Kaohsiung City Government also condemned Hung’s actions, saying that Hung is a radical, not a journalist. The city government says it will take steps to address the issue if Hung is found guilty of harassing other citizens.