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DPP accuses Ma’s sister of enjoying
‘special perks’
By Vincent Y. Chao / Staff Reporter
Opposition lawmakers yesterday accused Ma Yi-nan (馬以南), President Ma Ying-jeou’s
(馬英九) sister, of receiving “special perks” and regarding herself as a “relative
of the emperor” after she was observed boarding a personal vehicle on an airport
tarmac.
Arriving at Songshan Airport on a Mandarin Airlines flight from Taitung County
at about 8pm on Sunday, Ma Yi-nan and her entourage were immediately greeted by
a sports utility vehicle that drove right up to the aircraft, said Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Kun-cheng (賴坤成), who added that he was
seated behind Ma’s sister during the flight.
“All the other passengers had to take the shuttle bus ... looking at her take
the exclusive vehicle made everyone very jealous,” Lai said on a Facebook
posting an hour after the incident.
Saying she was unclear on the issue, Ma Yi-nan, the eldest of the president’s
three sisters, told the Central News Agency through an intermediary on Sunday
night that she had not made any special requests with the airline. After the
plane landed, airline staff ushered her to the waiting car, she said.
“She wasn’t clear on what the airline had prepared, but will carefully ensure
that such an incident will not happen again in the future,” the report said.
Mandarin Airlines said in a statement that the vehicle was prepared in response
to -concerns that the shuttle bus was overcrowded.
Describing Ma Yi-nan as a “VIP,” Mandarin Airlines public relations director Hsu
Cheng-chuan (徐正權) said it was to ensure that Ma’s sister “wouldn’t have to wait
with the other passengers.”
“[We] wanted to let the VIP leave quickly ... it doesn’t count as a special
perk,” Hsu said in a TV interview.
Not satisfied with the explanation, DPP lawmakers called on the president to
personally respond to the accusations and said he needed to apologize.
Not even government ministers received the courtesy offered to Ma Yi-nan, DPP
Legislator Tsai Huang-lang (蔡煌瑯) said.
“Ma Yi-nan basically thinks this country is her personal house ... and regards
herself as a relative of the emperor. This case of [abusing] her own authority
will leave a negative impression on society,” Tsai said in the legislature.
Media reports said Ma Yi-nan was on Mandarin Airlines flight AE394 with her
husband and assistants, returning from Taitung County, where she opened a
swimming competition for Aboriginal children.
While the event started at 8:15am, the opening ceremony was postponed until
2:45pm, halfway through the competition, which some sources claimed was because
Ma Yi-nan was busy stumping for a local Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
candidate earlier in the day.
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