The nation's leaders yesterday celebrated with the public the beginning of the Lunar New Year, saying they expect all people and the country to be blessed in the Year of Monkey.
Following the precedent set by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday gave red envelopes symbolizing luck and good fortune to more than 10,000 people in his hometown, Chichuang, Tainan County.
BY CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsu Chong-hsin (許崇興), a local resident who was the first one to receive a red envelope, said he waited at the site for two weeks to show his support for Chen.
Over 20,000 red envelopes, bearing the words "great year, good luck," displaying the image of a monkey and with a new NT$10 coin attached, were handed out by Chen and his wife, Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍).
The crowd yelled "A-bian elected" as the envelopes were being handed out.
Later, Chen attended a lunch banquet held by more than a thousand supporters, at which he pledged to carry out his referendum plan and urged people to defend the country's democracy and sovereignty.
"We must strengthen our belief that Taiwan cannot be annexed, Taiwan can never become any country's local government, like a second Hong Kong," Chen said.
"People of Hong Kong have to wait for anther 30 years to elect their administration chief, while Taiwan has enjoyed three presidential elections," Chen said. "The realization of the peace referendum on March 20, date of the presidential election, will create a new era for Taiwan, one that `one country, two systems' is not able to reach."
"The peace referendum is to demonstrate the voice of all 23 million Taiwanese people, which can't be replaced by the Legislative Yuan's resolution or any public poll. Taiwan's first ever referendum will help realize a peaceful framework for interaction for both sides of the Taiwan Strait," he said.
Chen said he expects people to understand that the referendum is designed to avoid war as well as to maintain the status quo.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators welcomed the New Year by showing their respects to the party's spiritual leader, Lee. Lee said the upcoming presidential election is crucial to Taiwan's sovereignty.
"Former president Lee stressed that the major task of the TSU this year is to enhance the public's awareness of autonomy and to defend Taiwan's status quo as an independent country," TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) said.
"People should understand that whether the new president can firmly defend Taiwan's sovereignty is the most important element when considering whom to vote for," Chen Chien-ming said.
Chen Shui-bian's opponent, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), was visited famous temples yesterday to seek grassroots support as well as receive a blessing from gods to win the election.
"We pray to ancestors and gods to bless the country and people, and only the victory of the Lien-Soong ticket can bring a better future for Taiwan," Lien said, referring to his running mate, People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
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