President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen also lashed out at those who accused him of rigging the election.
"Those who accused me of vote-rigging are making the gravest insult to my integrity," Chen said during a meeting with the heads of the governments' five branches at the Presidential Office yesterday morning.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"Neither I nor my administration, not to mention those 200,000 staff members who took charge of the vote-counting process on March 20, would cheat in the election," he said.
"Since I did not conduct any vote-rigging, I welcome and support a public vote recount, the results of which I will 100 percent accept, no matter the outcome," Chen said.
"I also urge KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Chen said he wanted to solve the dispute as soon as possible and wished to know why there were so many invalid ballots.
"You can propose the question and try to examine those ballots via judicial processes. You can't simply describe any invalid ballots, however, as vote-rigging," Chen said.
He asked the public to show empathy toward protesters in front of the Presidential Office, saying he could understand the protesters' feelings as he also had the experience of losing elections.
Responsibility
"I will not order the government to disperse those people," Chen said, adding that pan-blue leaders Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
"You [Lien and Soong] brought people there, you should shoulder the responsibility of sending them home," Chen said.
He said a recount should be realized through either political negotiations or legal amendments.
"On March 21, the day after the presidential election, I ordered my staff and the Cabinet to work out an approach that would realize the opposition's request of launching a recount," Chen said.
"Since the case is being dealt with by the legal system, the government has no right to become involved, unless the opposition parties would like to withdraw their cases," he said.
Chen suggested two ways to realize a recount. The first involved authorizing a court and neutral task force to monitor the recount. The second was to amend the President and Vice President Election and Recall Law (選罷法) to allow the Central Election Commission to begin a recount within seven days.
Chen stressed that all politicians should abide by the law and act in accordance with the country's legal system.
"Taiwan is a democratic nation ruled by laws; therefore, the insistence on legal principles should be regarded as what we live for," he said.
Chen rejected a suggestion by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to issue an emergency decree to order a recount.
"The emergency decree will solve nothing and will just make things more complicated," he said.
Physical evidence
Chen also lifted his shirt to display the wound on his stomach, looking to counter conspiracy theories that suggest he staged Friday's attempted assassination.
"We are the ones who were shot. We are more eager than anyone else to find out the truth," he said.
"People are wondering why I could still walk into the hospital after being shot," Chen said. "It was because I am the president of Republic of China, I can never fall down."
He recalled the emotional stress of being shot.
"I almost could not say a thing to my wife on the phone," the president said. Officials released on Sunday a photograph of Chen on the operating table, holding his mobile phone to his ear while surgeons tended to his wound.
"Nineteen years ago, we were almost separated for ever. Nineteen years later, I almost did not live to speak to my wife again. I felt many different emotions," he said.
Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen (
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
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