Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the nation’s first directly elected president, is expected to publish an endorsement of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ticket in seven Chinese--language newspapers today, one of Lee’s close aides said yesterday.
The ad, to be titled “Give Taiwan a Chance,” will express Lee’s hopes for the country from his perspective as the nation’s former leader, said the aide, who asked not to be named.
Lee is of the opinion that Taiwan needs a head of state who is competent, strong, responsible, approachable and harbors compassion for the people, and that these traits are especially obvious in Taiwanese women, the aide said.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
However, it is still not clear if Lee, who had a cancerous tumor removed in early November, will personally attend a campaign rally to endorse DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) before the elections on Saturday.
The aide said Lee, who turns 89 on Sunday, remains weak and he still is at risk of infection after the surgery. Even if he does appear at a rally, he will only be present for three to five minutes, the aide said.
In an advertisement yesterday, Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲) and 86 scientists defended Tsai’s role in the TaiMed case, calling her “capable, rational and trustworthy.”
The ad referred to Tsai’s role in the establishment of TaiMed Biologics Co (中裕新藥股份有限公司), formerly known as Yu Chang Biologics Co (宇昌生技股份有限公司), in 2007.
In March of that year, Tsai approved government investment in the new biotech venture in her capacity as vice premier. She then stepped down from her post in May and became chairwoman of the company in September.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), led by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), has accused Tsai of a conflict of interest.
Academia Sinica president Wong Chi-huey (翁啟惠) denied the charges at the time, saying Tsai was invited by the company’s executive team to be its chairwoman.
In a newspaper ad titled “Scientists’ conscience,” the scientists yesterday said: “The TaiMed case is a successful example of a biotech venture, but has fallen victim to a smear campaign.”
The ad was co-signed by Lee and 86 other scientists, including Patrick Yang (楊育民), executive vice president of Switzerland-based Roche, 23 Academia Sinica researchers and Hsu Chao-hui (許照惠), founder and vice chairman of US-based IVAX Corp.
The scientists also praised Tsai’s contribution to the venture, saying she had done her best for the country’s biotech development, and appealed to people to give Tsai justice.
Wong was not among the signatories to the ad.
When asked by the press for comment, DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said it was understandable that Wong did not sign the statement, given his official status as head of the academy.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and Liu Jung
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
RSS