Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Peter Lin (
"This is my personal apology to Mayor Hu and has nothing to do with the DPP," Lin said. "I wanted to tell him in person that I am sorry."
Lin's apology was accepted by Hu during a press conference in Taichung City yesterday afternoon after Hu gave a speech at the Taichung Convention Center.
PHOTO: LIAO YAO-TUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Lin had gone to the center in the hopes of meeting Hu.
When the lawmaker saw Hu, he approached, grabbed Hu's hands, bowed and was planning to kneel down as well. Hu immediately held him up.
Lin then apologized to Hu in front of a group of reporters.
A week ago Tuesday, Lin, a practicing physician, and 11 other doctors, held a joint news conference and released what they claimed were Hu's medical records, in an attempt to thwart Hu's re-election bid by questioning whether he was healthy enough to serve another term.
Lin said he decided to apologize to Hu because of public pressure.
"People believe that I am a bad doctor, a bad person because I did this. But, to me, it has nothing to do with my profession," Lin said.
When asked where the medical record had come from, Lin said, "Somebody mailed it to me. Since it was mailed, I do not know whom it was from."
Hu said that he was surprised by Lin's visit but approved of Lin's contrition.
"I accept his apology. It takes courage to apologize," Hu said.
"I understood that as a DPP member, Lin was under pressure for the election. But the election is done and Taiwanese people should reunite. To reunite, nothing is unforgivable," he said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) said yesterday that it was inappropriate for anyone to publicize another person's medical records, and she expressed regret for the incident.
Lu, who is now the DPP's acting chairwoman, asked that the party's Central Standing Committee meeting next Wednesday discuss whether Lin should face party discipline.
DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said the party told its legislative caucus before the start of the election campaign that it was opposed to dirty campaign tactics -- such as releasing medical records -- but that Lin was apparently unaware of the party's stance.
On Tuesday, Lin's license to practice medicine was suspended for one year by the Medical Doctor's Disciplinary committee of the Taichung City Government. The other doctors who took part in the press conference were ordered to attend medical ethics classes. One had his license suspended for one month, while the rest just received warnings.
RACE FOR CHIPS: The Dresden site would help Europe reduce its reliance on Asia for semiconductors, while Germany aims to produce one-fifth of the world’s chips by 2030 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday broke ground in Dresden, Germany, on its first European plant as the continent seeks to safeguard its chip supplies amid growing US-China tensions. TSMC chief executive C.C. Wei (魏哲家) attended the event, together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the heads of Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV and Robert Bosch GmbH, which each hold a 10 percent stake in the venture. TSMC owns a 70 percent stake in the plant. “Together with our partners, Bosch, Infineon and NXP, we are building our Dresden facility to meet the
‘CLOSE TIES’: Former Japanese PM Yoshihiko Noda also attended the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security and spoke of Taiwan’s importance globally China’s authoritarian expansionism would not stop with Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, calling for solidarity among the world’s democracies to check Beijing’s territorial ambitions. Taiwan is determined to become a decisive force for democracy, peace and prosperity, standing side-by-side with its democratic partners to confront authoritarian expansionism and protect shared values, he told the annual Ketagalan Forum on Indo-Pacific security in Taipei. Authoritarianism is now a global challenge, Lai said, using as examples Chinese military expansionism, economic coercion and the use of hybrid warfare tactics such as cyberattacks and cognitive warfare. “We are all fully aware that China’s growing authoritarianism will
WORK TOGETHER: The US cannot assume it does not need friends, Haley said, calling isolationism unhealthy and echoing Pence’s calls to stand with Taiwan Taiwan and the US should jointly call on the UN to hold a hearing on UN Resolution 2758 and curbing China’s aggression, former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said yesterday in Taipei. The UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, 1971, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the legitimate government of China, which led to it replacing the Republic of China in the UN. However, the resolution “never mentioned ‘Taiwan,’” and the UN should not “allow the Chinese Communist Party to hijack a resolution and claim it’s about Taiwan,” Haley told a news conference. Taiwan should
RECOVERY: Overall, average income across all age groups increased, climbing to a record NT$709,000 last year, on the back of an improved economy, the DGBAS said Taiwanese workers under the age of 30 last year, on average, earned an annual income of NT$545,931 (US$17,044), a new high, as the economy continued to improve, data released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. That equated to monthly earnings of NT$45,494 per person, and marked an increase from NT$535,667 in 2022, the data showed. In addition to an improved economy, average incomes rose as the unemployment rate declined and the minimum wage rose, the statistics agency said. Overall, average income in Taiwan also hit a new record of NT$709,000 last year, up from NT$704,000 in 2022, the data