Though former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia once said there was no Republican or Democratic way to clean the streets, Lee Teng-hui (
Lee, 78, the former president and ex-chairman of the KMT, joined volunteers yesterday to clean up the streets around his Waishuang Creek neighborhood in Taipei's Shihlin District, saying he was doing so out of love for "our homeland."
The high-profile community event came less than 24 hours after Lee shared the stage with President Chen Shui-bian (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
"In order to build a beautiful homeland, citizens should not litter or dump trash and household waste in the street. Everyone should maintain cleanliness to restore nature's original beauty," Lee said.
"Since I moved here, I have always wished to take part in the cleaning duties of the community. The purpose of my participating is to arouse people's awareness and love for the environment and of our homeland."
But Lee yesterday refrained from commenting on questions concerning his relations with Chen and the formation of a political party of Lee's followers.
Huang Chu-wen (
The group is centered around Lee's "localization" and "Taiwan first" policies, which have been abandoned by Lien since he took over the KMT's helm from Lee last year. The pro-Lee politicians are expected to work closely with the DPP in the legislature.
In the afternoon, Lee autographed copies of the book, The President in the Tiger's Mouth (
Kamisada, who was present at the event, said that in the book she had sought to provide an account of Taiwan's history after World War II through the life stories of Lee and his wife, Tseng Wen-hui (曾文惠).
The book also touched upon Lee's relationships with Lien and President Chen.
In the book, Kamisada wrote how Lee was galled by Lien's betrayal when Lien told him to step down from his post as the KMT chairman after last year's presidential elections, saying the sooner he did so the better.
The book also said that Lee holds high expectations of Chen.
Lee told reporters yesterday that Kamisada's book was "absolutely accurate and reliable."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique