President Chen Shui-bian (
"The conflicts between Israel and Lebanon reflect the importance of peace," Chen said. "We have been doing our best to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait so security can be ensured."
Chen made the remarks when receiving US Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, and his wife, who is Lebanese.
Chen said that he hoped their presence would help the street sit-in end in a peaceful manner.
"I believe you and your wife can bring happiness and good fortune to the 23 million people of Taiwan and the government I represent," he said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) yesterday responded to the anti-Chen campaign's decision to change its name.
"I acknowledge the name change of the campaign initiated by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) from `anti-Chen' to `anti-corruption,'" he said. "However, he should be targeting the KMT because it is the source of corruption."
No matter whether the KMT's assets were worth NT$600 billion (US$19 billion) or NT$50 billion, they were obtained illegally and should be returned to the people and state coffers, Wang said.
Wang said that the money, if it could be allocated to families suffering from financial difficulties, would make a big difference.
In response, KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
Wang said that KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was "sitting on both sides of the fence" because he was supporting the anti-Chen campaign but also wanted to see Chen stay on as president so he would stand a better chance of winning the 2008 presidential election.
"Although Shih has seen Ma's true colors, I'd like to remind him not to become a pawn of Ma," he said. "He should rein in his horses and stop the campaign right away."
Describing Ma as an "opportunist," Wang said he suspected that Ma and fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) were behind Shih's campaign against Chen.
Wang also said Ma was too late in expressing disapproval of the application made by Shih's camp to hold the 24-hour sit-in from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15.
The city earlier had approved the campaign's application for a 24-hour sit-in from Aug. 23 to Sept. 7. Wang said that Ma should not have approved a 24-hour sit-in in the first place.
"Now he is just trying to shirk responsibility and shift the blame to others," Wang said.
Wang also demanded that Ho De-fen (
Police later discovered that it was a false alarm and said that a man suffering an apparent mental breakdown had left the bags there.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
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