President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance's protests in front of the Presidential Office from March 20 to March 27 were an "unsuccessful coup d'etat."
"Thank God it was not successful. Otherwise, I would not have had the opportunity to stand up here and speak with all of you and celebrate your school's anniversary. It is our fate," Chen said.
PHOTO: YU HSUEH-LAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen made his remarks while he was attending the anniversary ceremony of the National Chiayi Senior High School yesterday morning. He said that Taiwan is blessed because both the assassination attempt on the lives of Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and himself, and the "seven-day coup d'etat," were unsuccessful. Moreover, Lu and he also won re-election.
Chen encouraged the students at the celebration to work hard, study hard and play hard. He called the high school a "premiers' alma mater" because former premiers Vincent Siew (蕭萬長) and Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) are both alumni.
In addition to criticizing the KMT-PFP alliance's protest activities, Chen also encouraged his fellow Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members to work hard for the year-end legislature election.
"I hope that half of the 225 seats in the Legislative Yuan will be filled by DPP members," Chen said.
"Maybe our future Legislative Yuan speaker will be a Chiayi Senior High School alumnus, too," he said.
In response to Chen's remarks, KMT Cultural and Communications Affairs Committee Director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) immediately issued a press release.
Tsai said in the press release that all the protest activities in front of the Presidential Office from March 20 to March 27 had been totally legal, authorized and had peaceful endings.
In addition, all the protesters' requests, including the recounting of ballots and the investigation of the assassination attempt, were reasonable.
Under an agreement by both parties, a full recount was scheduled to begin on May 10 and both parties hoped to finish the recount process before May 20. However, the DPP and the KMT-PFP alliance have yet to come up with an agreement on how a disputed ballot should be recognized and who will be responsible for paying all the expenses regarding the recount.
As for the assassination attempt, the investigation is at the same stage as a couple of weeks ago, as investigators had difficulties identifying the potential gunmen as well as the pistol, which is believed to be a homemade firearm.
"He [Chen] said just a few days ago that Taiwanese people should reunify and work together for our future. However, now he made up a charge against us. I do not know what kind of logic that is," Tsai said.
Tsai also said that the alliance will consider filing a slander suit against Chen if he is unable to provide evidence to prove his remarks against the alliance, or fails to apologize to the alliance within 24 hours.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
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
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source