Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) said yesterday that former president Lee Teng-hsui (
"We visited former president Lee [on Friday]. He said Hsieh is bound to win and asked the alumni of the Lee Teng-hui School to put their efforts into getting Hsieh elected," said Twu, who is also the executive director of the alumni association of the political academy founded by Lee.
The press conference was held to announce the group's support for Hsieh.
"Lee was very much in favor of our coming out to support Hsieh," Twu said.
Lee has yet to come forward in person and say which of the two candidates he favors.
However, in an interview with Japanese writer Yusuke Fukada, which was published in the current issue of a Japanese monthly, Lee said that Taiwan's democracy would be set back 20 years if Hsieh lost the election.
However, if Hsieh manages to rouse himself and catch up with Ma, the old forces of the two parties would perish and be replaced by new blood, Lee was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (
"Only when two countries have similar economic status will free movement of production factors not hurt public interest," he said. "In the case of Taiwan and China, a free flow of labor in a common market will turn Taiwan into a refugee camp."
Chen said Chinese labor would be allowed to enter the country about three years after a common market is set up, in accordance with international practices, rebutting the promise made by Ma that he would never open up Taiwan to Chinese workers if elected.
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
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
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have