President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen told reporters in Taichung County yesterday that it was his presidential duty to review troops and his trip to Taiping Island (
"As the nation's leader, shouldn't I visit troops on behalf of the people and give them our regards?" he said.
Chen visited Taiwan's military forces stationed on Taiping Island on Saturday. He also inspected an airstrip that was recently completed to facilitate maritime rescue work.
In his speech at the opening ceremony for the airstrip, Chen proposed a "Spratly Initiative," calling for countries in the South China Sea area to set aside sovereignty disputes and cooperate with each other to protect the Spratly's environment and resources.
Chen is the first president from Taiwan to set foot on the biggest atoll of the Spratly chain. His low-profile visit was largely seen as a move to assert a sovereignty claim.
Late last month, the Presidential Office denied that Chen was planning to visit the Spratly Islands for the sole purpose of raising the profile of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
The Presidential Office said it is a tradition for the president to visit military camps ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
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Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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