Former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) was formally expelled from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday because of his alleged involvement in the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal, in a resolution passed by the DPP's central evaluation committee.
The chief of the DPP's central evaluation committee Gao Jyh-peng (
Blackened image
Gao pointed out that although the KRTC scandal is still under investigation, Chen Che-nan's repeated evasions, his gambling trip to Korea and travel without requesting leave have all seriously damaged the DPP's reputation.
Gao compared Chen's conduct to the misleading statements of People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
"It is was virtually the same as when Soong [told] the public that he did not have houses in Hawaii, when it turned out that he owned five houses in LA," Gao said.
On Oct.13, Chen Che-nan said that he had never been to Incheon in South Korea. But then a picture was made public during a talk show on the television station TVBS showing him and former KRTC vice chairman Chen Min-hsien (陳敏賢) in a casino in South Korea's Cheju Island in 2002.
Five-year break
Although Chen Che-nan himself said that he would withdraw from the DPP on Friday night, Gao said that the procedure of Chen Che-nan's withdrawal from the DPP was not so simple, because the DPP must also receive related documents such as a member's party card.
According to DPP regulations, people who quit the party cannot rejoin for two years. Those like Chen Che-nan who are expelled by the party's central evaluation committee are barred from the party for five years.
"The DPP considers that Chen [Che-nan]'s withdrawal from the party would not completely enforce DPP party discipline and satisfy the public," Gao said. "Therefore, the central evaluation committee passed the resolution made by the provisional central standing committee held Saturday night, and expelled him from the DPP."
Enforcing discipline
Gao pointed out that the DPP is determined to protect the party's image and implement party discipline. Chen Che-nan's expulsion was considered necessary as he has already critically hurt the DPP's reputation.
"I would also like to apologize to our supporters and promise on the DPP's behalf that we will take action and request other members to follow the highest standards in order to defend the DPP's name," he said.
The DPP will also conduct a revision of party discipline and push high moral standards for members to protect the party's image, Gao added.
Responding to the DPP's decision on Chen Che-nan, Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu made the remarks in Tainan County, where she joined election campaign activities to promote her DPP party comrade, incumbent Tainan County Commissioner Su Huan-chih (
Meanwhile, opposition legislators yesterday urged the Presidential Office to take back medals awarded to Chen Che-nan.
At a press conference held yesterday by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus, legislators said Chen Che-nan did not deserve to keep his awards. President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) conferred two orders upon Chen Che-nan.
One was a second-class medal of the Order of the Brilliant Star (景星勳章) in 2002 and the other, which is a higher honor, was the Order of Propitious Clouds (卿雲勳章) last year.
"We believe that president Chen has abused such honorable medals to please his comrades in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)," KMT caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
GEOPOLITICAL CONCERNS: Foreign companies such as Nissan, Volkswagen and Konica Minolta have pulled back their operations in China this year Foreign companies pulled more money from China last quarter, a sign that some investors are still pessimistic even as Beijing rolls out stimulus measures aimed at stabilizing growth. China’s direct investment liabilities in its balance of payments dropped US$8.1 billion in the third quarter, data released by the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed on Friday. The gauge, which measures foreign direct investment (FDI) in China, was down almost US$13 billion for the first nine months of the year. Foreign investment into China has slumped in the past three years after hitting a record in 2021, a casualty of geopolitical tensions,
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
RSS