President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen caused a stir on Sunday when he told attendants at the Formosan Association for Public Affairs' 25th anniversary dinner that "Taiwan will say yes to independence, Taiwan will be correctly named, Taiwan will have a new constitution, Taiwan will develop. There is no left-right political axis in Taiwan, just the question of independence or assimilation."
Chen said yesterday the remarks were in line with his policy goals to "insist on Taiwanese consciousness" and to "work for social fairness and justice."
"I've been thinking for quite some time and think it is necessary for me to elaborate on the two aspects," he said. "That is why I made the comments on Sunday. They made the policy goals more organized and memorable."
Chen said he hoped a clearer picture of the policy goals would help consolidate a public consensus to work for the progress of the country.
Chen made the remarks while addressing a Lunar New Year gathering of members of industrial and commercial groups in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
TAIEX fell 3.74 percent on Monday amid market weakness across the region following Wall Street's slide last week. Some blamed the plunge on the remark Chen made on Sunday.
Some believed Chen's speech was an attack against Lee, who recently said independence was not an issue because Taiwan was already independent.
When approached by reporters for further comments in Taoyuan yesterday, Lee said the fall of the stock market had a lot to do with Chen's comment.
Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu predicted on Monday that her announcement to run in the party primary for next year's presidential election yesterday would help boost the stock market. TAIEX rose yesterday by 106.5 points.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday urged prosecutors to investigate whether Chen made his remarks on Sunday in a bid to help the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or others profit from the TAIEX plunge the next day.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
In response, DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) told another press conference that if the KMT's logic held true, the pan-blue camp should also give Chen the credit for the rise of the TAIEX yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman David Wang (
The explaination said the president's remarks were aimed at expounding the direction of Taiwan's national development and were a reflection of China's suppression.
Mainland Affairs Council Chairman Joseph Wu (
Additional reporting by Jewel Huang
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
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
‘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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS