President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was to say in a TV interview broadcast last night at 10pm that he can provide evidence to prove that People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had a secret meeting with the director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Chen Yunlin (陳雲林), during a trip to the US earlier this year, according to media reports.
The president was to make the claim in his interview with SetTV, which aired the last of a two-part series last night. The first part was broadcast on Sunday night.
The accusation was first made by Chen in early May, when he was interviewed by SetTV. Soong soon refuted Chen's accusation and demanded a public apology from Chen. Since the Presidential Office has never responded to Soong's demand, the tension between the two sides remained unchanged. In light of this, PFP Spokesman Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公秉) filed a claim at court against Chen's accusation.
However, Chen said during the interview that he has nothing to be afraid of.
"I'm not talking about this arbitrarily. It's based on factual evidence. I have shown an influential figure in the pan-blue camp the evidence ... If in the future I have to go to court because of the accusation, the evidence will be presented to the judges, too," Chen said.
Chen added that he was curious as to why the PFP did not file any claims against the media agencies that reported on the matter.
Chen stressed that, as leader of a nation, he would never insult, defame or hurt anyone deliberately.
The PFP caucus yesterday challenged the president to produce evidence within 24 hours to prove his claim that Soong had met with Chen Yunlin during a trip to the US, or step down from his post.
"If the evidence proves that Chairman Soong has indeed met with Chen Yunlin, the chairman will reciprocate and bow out of the political arena," PFP Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安) said.
PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), who also serves as the director of policy research, criticized the president as a "pathological liar."
"It is pathetic that the president hides behind his presidential privilege of criminal immunity to make such a groundless accusation," he said.
Chang requested that President Chen provide his evidence within 24 hours, or he would lead caucus members to the Presidential Office to make the request in person.
Chang claimed that Douglas Paal, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, and National Security Bureau Director-General Hsueh Shih-ming (薛石民) have dismissed the president's charge.
"I can guarantee you that Chairman Soong did not meet with Chen Yunlin in the US. Chen Yunlin himself also rebutted the claim after Soong's meeting with [Chinese] President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) in May," Chang said.
"Besides, how do you expect the two to meet when one of them was on the east coast and the other in the west [of the US]?" he asked.
Calling the president's purported evidence a piece of "rubbish," PFP caucus whip Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) said that the claim is a "desperate move" aimed at boosting the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) lagging approval ratings.
Jumping to the president's defense, DPP caucus whip William Lai (賴清德) said that whether Soong has met with Chen Yunlin is not the point, since Soong has already met with Hu.
"I am calling on the PFP to look ahead rather than remain fixated on the past," Lai said. "The president simply stated the truth and did not say anything that does not have any basis in reality."
In response to media questions, Soong, who arrived in Taipei late last night from the UK, reiterated that he had never met with Chen Yun-lin.
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