Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) never called President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) a "kickback president," he said yesterday.
Rather, his campaign staff wrote it instead.
Hwang Yih-jiau (
First lady Wu Shu-chen's (吳淑珍) defamation suit, filed yesterday, should not be allowed by prosecutors to proceed, Hwang said.
The draft campaign speech was faxed by the alliance to media organizations on Saturday. It described Chen as a "10 percent president" who levied kickbacks of 10 percent of the value on major infrastructure projects.
Hwang did not explain, however, how circulating a draft speech containing the allegation to media outlets was in any way less defamatory than voicing the allegations at a campaign rally.
Instead he claimed that the alliance was simply asking questions about the president's probity that were in the public interest and frequently asked by ordinary people.
Whether a president has been involved in any insider trading or accepted illegal political donations are issues that fall within the scope of public discussion as they are matters of concern to the public, Hwang said.
These are issues which all citizens can call into question and that the president should not shy away from addressing, he said.
The alliance also launched a new ad campaign yesterday attempting to rebut accusations from the DPP that the Lien family's immense wealth -- estimated at NT$20 billion -- was the result Lien family members using their political connections during the era of the martial law dictatorship to illegally both acquire land and change that land's designated use.
The ad branded the DPP's charges as "false accusations," "smearing," "shameless," "distorted" and "purely fictitious."
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
RSS