Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Deputy Secretary-General Steve Chan (詹啟賢) yesterday dismissed a media report that Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) had been diagnosed with lung cancer before the presidential election in March last year and that he had helped Siew conceal his condition.
“Would a person who had been diagnosed with cancer postpone his operation until he was elected?” asked Chan, former superintendent of the Tainan-based Chi Mei Medical Center, in response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday.
The report said there was speculation within the KMT that Siew had consulted Chan and been diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma before the election.
The rumor began circulating when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) left for a 10-day state visit to Central America on May 26, with some KMT members discussing the possibility of Siew being replaced, the report said.
Siew had surgery at Taipei Veterans General Hospital on May 20 to have two tumors removed. He was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday and is expected to undergo targeted therapy.
Chan called a press conference at KMT headquarters yesterday afternoon and demanded that the China Times run a correction.
Chan said Siew had always taken his health exams at National Taiwan University Hospital, except for the one time when Siew visited him at the center in Tainan in May 2006.
“How could I have diagnosed [Siew] with cancer during the [presidential] campaign when the only time I had conducted a health exam on [Siew] was three years ago?” Chan asked.
“Whoever started the rumor has an ulterior motive and people who believe it lack common sense,” he said. “Anyone with medical knowledge would know that the surgery would not have gone so smoothly if the cancer was detected three years ago.”
Chan said what was found in Siew’s left lung during his health exam at Chi Mei Medical Center that year was a tubercle, which tested negative.
Chan said he reminded Siew at the time to make sure he did follow-up examinations.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
RSS