Former president Lee Teng-hui's (
The pledge stated that as long as Beijing had no intention of using military force against Taiwan, Chen would not declare independence, change the national title, ensconce the "state-to-state" model of cross-strait relations in the Constitution, hold a referendum on independence or unification, or abolish the National Unification Council and guidelines.
Lee's office issued the denial yesterday in response to a report in the Chinese-language China Times. The report said that the "one without" was not in the original draft of Chen's speech, and that it was Lee who suggested that Chen include it in order to "safeguard the country's interests."
"President Chen never consulted former president Lee during or after the drafting of the inauguration speech, so how would [Lee] make any suggestions [to the president]?" Lee's press statement asked. "The report is false and we are sorry that it has confused the public."
Chen's intention to abolish the unification council and guidelines has generated considerable concern among certain groups. According to the China Times report, Chen decided to abandon the "one without" condition after he suffered setbacks to his "middle course" policies and after China's refusal to negotiate with the government.
The abolition of the unification council and guidelines, the article said, reflected Chen's desire to "surpass Lee and leave no burden for future generations."
Meanwhile, regarding speculation that Chen will restate his "four noes" pledge when he announces the abolition of the unification council and guidelines, DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
"The `four noes' pledge is all about Taiwan's sovereignty, while the abolition of the unification council is relatively unimportant," Lin said.
"Restating the `four noes' pledge would be no different from selling the country out in return for [the abolition of the unification council]," Lin said.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"I don't think the US will accept Chen's restating the `four noes' as a compromise to abandoning the `one without,'" he said.
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
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