President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) owes the public an apology for using government money to campaign for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus said yesterday, accusing Ma of spending at least NT$3.71 million (US$115,000) a day campaigning.

The caucus also lambasted the presidential security detail for hogging the road by telling drivers on a freeway to clear the passing lane for a presidential motorcade heading for Taipei on Saturday — although some media outlets, including TVBS, reported yesterday that Ma was not in the motorcade at the time. There was a traffic jam on the freeway at the time because of an unrelated car accident.