Despite his controversial remark that "someone in a skirt would not make a good commander-in-chief," former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (
Koo said his comment was made on the basis of China's military threat and possibility of military confrontations.
"But there won't be a war in the Taiwan Strait," Koo said, "because China wouldn't want to drive away foreign investors and risk an economic collapse."
PHOTO: CNA
In the worst-case scenario, Koo said: "I would welcome [a war]."
"Taiwan's biggest crisis is the lack of a national consensus on the nation's future despite the military threat from China," he said. "But if China were to launch a military attack against Taiwan, a consensus would be formed within a week."
Koo made the remarks while meeting with Lu at his office in Taipei yesterday morning.
Denying his notorious remark was targeted at Lu and that he had changed his tune, Koo said he admired Lu's determination to run for president.
"She is a very special woman," he said. "It is not easy to be consistent all these years and I wish her all the best."
If all the female voters supported her, Lu would easily be elected, Koo said, adding that if Taiwan had a female president, he believed there would be a "big change" in the nation's politics.
Koo said he expected future national leaders to be strong-minded, reliable and capable of responding in time of crisis.
Dressed formally in a pink top and skirt, Lu joked she should probably have worn trousers.
She said she did not visit Koo to discuss her presidential bid, but rather to raise funds for an after-school educational program she initiated.
Lu, however, complimented herself as the first female politician to advocate the twin concepts of "connecting with the international community" and "preventive diplomacy."
"Taiwan's democracy is the best line of defense," she said. "That's what I call preventive diplomacy.'"
Hailing herself as an "all-round" national leader, Lu criticized her male contenders for hiring specialists to map out their election platforms, while she came up with her own.
Lu is competing with former premier Frank Hsieh (
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday visited a pro-independence group and promised to participate in the TV debate being organized by the group on March 24.
Saying that politicians must accept constant challenges, Hsieh said he accepted the invitation right after the organization announced its plan and before the DPP decided to hold one of its own.
While the party's presidential hopefuls are obliged to attend debates organized by the party, they should also take advantage of other events hosted by other institutions to publicize their position.
Hsieh said President Chen Shui-bian (
In a separate setting yesterday, Su said the party primary would not be necessary if the president's attempts to mediate a solution succeeded.
After a second round of mediation between Chen and the four presidential hopefuls on Tuesday night, the four agreed to hold negotiations to select the party's presidential candidate, vowing that they would neither withdraw from the DPP nor run on their own if they did not secure the party's nomination.
Additional reporting by Jimmy Chuang
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS