The Presidential Office yesterday said that two foreign newspapers that reported President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had admitted lying to prosecutors about the alleged misuse of the "state affairs fund" might have misinterpreted his words.
"The President did not lie to prosecutors," said Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (
Lee made the remarks in response to reports published recently in both the New York Times and the Sydney Morning Herald.
With a headline that read "Taiwan's Leader Admits Lies, but Says He Won't Step Down" dated Nov. 6, the New York Times said Chen admitted on Sunday that he "submitted false receipts for reimbursement from public funds and lied to prosecutors about how he spent the money, but said he had done so in the interest of national security."
The Sydney Morning Herald, in an article dated Nov. 7, also reported that Chen "admitted lying and submitting false receipts for reimbursement from public funds."
Lee said Chen opted to withhold the information about a secret agent, "Person A," during the prosecutor's questioning, which may have led to the misunderstanding.
Somebody might have lied about the secret diplomatic projects in the process, but that person was not Chen, Lee said.
Chen said on Sunday in a televised press conference that "somebody has lied about the secret jobs conducted by `Person A.'
"No matter whether it was a malicious lie or a white lie, I think an apology is necessary. However, if the white lie was made to protect secret diplomatic projects, can we consider it as an excusable error?" he said.
Chen said that he "was willing to apologize for making incoherent statements during the questioning but that they were made in the interest of national security."
He said that he "did not dare to say or think it was a better idea to withhold the information," but it might have caused the prosecutors to misunderstand him.
READY: The CGA said it closely monitored China’s maritime exercise, deployed vessels to shadow the Chinese ships one-on-one and set up emergency response centers Chinese navy and coast guard ships have returned to China, signaling the end of a massive maritime exercise, authorities said yesterday. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) released images it said showed Chinese vessels sailing north in rough seas past Taiwan on Thursday, on their way to China. “All the Chinese coast guard went back to China yesterday, so although they have not officially made any announcement, we consider it over,” CGA Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said. Beijing has not confirmed the drills and the Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not say whether the maneuvers had taken place when asked at a
People can take the Taipei MRT free of charge if they access it at Nanjing Sanmin Station or Taipei Arena Station on the Green Line between 12am and 6am on Jan. 1, the Taipei Department of Transportation said on Friday, outlining its plans to ease crowding during New Year’s events in the capital. More than 200,000 people are expected to attend New Year’s Eve events in Taipei, with singer A-mei (張惠妹) performing at the Taipei Dome and the city government’s New Year’s Eve party at Taipei City Hall Plaza, the department said. As people have tended to use the MRT’s Blue or
PUBLIC TRANSPORT: As some roads would be fully or partially closed, people are advised to take the MRT, with services expanded to accommodate more riders This year’s Taipei Marathon, which has obtained its first gold label certification from World Athletics, is to be held from 5am to 1pm tomorrow and would have 28,000 participants. The race is to start from the Taipei City Plaza and would go through major roads throughout the city, with traffic control implemented from 6am to 2pm, officials said. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system and New Taipei City MRT Circle line would start operating at 5am on the day of the race, they said. The race would cover Renai Road, Xinyi Road, Hangzhou S Road, Aiguo east and west roads,
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS