Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (
The denial was in response to charges by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that Lee went to visit then Chinese vice premier Qian Qichen (
The DPP said Lee made the visit to talk about Lien's firm stand on the so-called 1992 consensus (one China, with each side having its own interpretation), direct-links, peaceful negotiation and reunification.
The DPP caucus showed a letter written by Lee on Feb. 10 last year and addressed to a "Professor Lee."
In the letter, Lee Chuan-chiao asked professor Lee to arrange a meeting between him and top Chinese officials to discuss issues related to "peace and stability in cross-strait politics, transportation and economics."
The DPP caucus said professor Lee was Lee Chin-po (
According to the DPP, Lee Chuan-chiao went sightseeing in China with his fellow caucus members on Feb. 16 last year, but Lee left the group on Feb. 21 to fly to Beijing.
"Lee Chuan-chiao met Qian in the morning of the 23rd in a hotel, and then he met the official of a even higher rank in the afternoon at that official's home," DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
Lee Wen-chung also said that the unnamed official sent Huang Huizhen (
The DPP caucus refused to identify the official although that official was identified as someone surnamed Hu in the press release.
The DPP caucus said Chinese authorities later sent Huang to see Lien at the urging of Lee Chuan-chiao. Huang brought messages from China to Lien on March 20 last year, the DPP caucus said.
"We also know that Lee Chuan-chiao went to China again on Feb. 12 this year to see top Chinese officials about the election and the referendum," Lee Wen?chung said.
Lee Chuan-chiao first showed little recognition of the letter when confronted by the allegations but later admitted he wrote it without remembering much of the contents. He said he did not really know Lee Chin-po, but wrote the letter under the request of Hsu Chung-chin (
"After I revealed the Zanadau scandal, one day Hsu came to me to say that he had evidence about DPP scandals and said he wanted to join the blue camp. I checked and he seemed to have some evidence indeed," Lee Chuan-chiao said.
"Later he told me that he could arrange for me to meet Chinese officials like he did for DPP legislators Hsiao Bi-khim (
Lee Chuan-chiao said that Hsu asked him to write a letter to Lee Chin-po to take advantage of Lin Chin-po's connections.
"When I went to China, Hsu called and said he could arrange for me to meet the top officials, so I flew to Beijing. But I ended up seeing no one, and I just had a good time in Beijing doing sightseeing," Lee Chuan-chiao said.
He added that he went to China last week to gather evidence on illegal actions by top DPP officials.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS