The fundraising campaign initiated by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (
"I hope Shih will put an end to such ridiculous behavior so he won't destroy his reputation," Wang said. "I wish he had been executed during Chiang Ching-kuo's (
PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
TV political commentator Wang Ben-hu (
He called on the public to join the Aug. 26 campaign he is organizing to "protect A-bian and safeguard Taiwan" at the 228 Peace Park.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) criticized Shih for "arrogance," saying that he brazenly rejected their "friendly" efforts to dissuade him from continuing.
While the Democratic Action Alliance is also planning to officially commence its national anti-Chen Shui-bian campaign by taking to the streets on the same day as Shih, Huang said Shih had put on an air of self-importance and refused to negotiate with the alliance.
"It makes me feel that he has become someone I don't know any more," Huang said. "I don't want to see his moral arrogance. Even former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, was not that arrogant when he was dealing with opposition parties."
Shih is often dubbed the "Nelson Mandela of Taiwan" because of the 25 years he served in prison as a result of his pro-democracy activism.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
"Although I do not support his campaign, I feel ashamed about what the first family has done," he said. "I feel even more ashamed about the way my colleagues have responded to Shih."
Lee said DPP members could at least keep quiet when they cannot figure out a way to resolve the problem.
"If they want to respond, they must respond with dignity and consider the public reaction," he said. "Defensive or defamatory remarks will only further disappoint our supporters."
Shih's former wife, Linda Gail Arrigo, yesterday said Shih's campaign was not an act of conscience but an unwillingness to remain out of the limelight.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (
"Although they say that they are defending a localization regime, they are actually defending a government embroiled in corruption," Tsai said.
Tsai said the KMT fully support Shih's campaign, but it won't order its party members to participate in the campaign in the hope of avoiding making the campaign a confrontation between the pan-green and pan-blue camps.
People First Party (PFP) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (
"Rather, it should be a problem of fighting corruption or not." Lu added.
He said the PFP will not attend Shih's campaign in the name of the party, but it will encourage the participation of its party members and supporters.
Meanwhile, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun yesterday said he was worried about the possible eruption of conflict between radical forces calling the president to step down and those opposing such calls. Yu has also been advised by senior DPP officials to consider canceling his scheduled visit to the US in early next month.
As the government, the DPP's priority is to maintain political stability and concentrate on national development, said senior DPP officials. For that reason, they said, the DPP will not organize any activities to counter Shih.
Yu has called on Shih to exercise "self-restraint" and said he had tried to pacify people like Wang Pen-hu, but to no avail.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and