Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
"It's a bad thing that the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] is saying that my husband beat me because he treats me very well," she told reporters at the pan-blue alliance's campaign headquarters yesterday evening.
Her appearance came several hours after a former neighbor of the couple had issued a statement saying that he had heard of rumors decades ago that Lien beat his wife.
Lin Fu-shen (
Lin's statement said that when he was a neighbor of the Lien family between 1968 and 1970, he heard Lien's maid saying Lien would sometimes beat his wife.
Lin and Lien were members of National Taiwan University's political science department at the time.
"Mr Lien Chan's maid would come to my place to chat with my maid, talking about some episodes in the Lien family's life," the 76-year old Lin wrote.
"[Lien's maid said] Lien sometimes would abuse and beat Fang Yu," Lin wrote.
Lien Fang Yu appeared at the campaign headquarters along with a woman who had worked as a maid for the Lien family during the period mentioned by Lin.
The woman, surnamed Wen, told reporters that she had been surprised by allegations that Lien Chan was a wifebeater because he and his wife were a loving couple.
She said she had worked for the couple for seven years and had never seen the KMT chief beat his wife.
In a phone call with the Taipei Times earlier in the day, Lin said that he and Lien were friends.
"I just happened to hear the chitchat between the maids when I was in the living room when they were talking in there. I did not ask for further details," Lin said.
"I issued the statement because I watched the debate between the two presidential candidates, and when Chen [Shui-bian (
"But Chen was not saying that anyone was a wifebeater, and so I decided to issue my statement," Lin said.
Lin's statement enraged the KMT.
"The incident mentioned by Lin Fu-shen in his statement happened over 30 years ago, and it was hearsay from his maid. It was not something he saw personally. If Lin really knows that Lien beats his wife, why doesn't he show up [in public]?" said KMT spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (
Kuo urged the DPP to refrain from mudslinging in the campaign and refocus its election strategy on national policies.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS