President Chen Shui-bian (
"I respect the judicial system and I support and believe in it," he said in his weekly e-newsletter. "However, our judicial system has been deliberately distorted and misled to a point that the distant family members of someone who committed a crime have to bear the punishment applied to the person. Such an abnormal development is worrisome."
Calling on the opposition pan-blue alliance to separate issues of justice from politicking, Chen said that the public will not tolerate politicians manipulating the justice system to achieve political goals.
"Some are alleging that the recall campaign and no-confidence vote against the premier are just an attempt to add impetus to the prosecutors' investigation. This is a naked attempt to use political power to interfere with the judicial process," he said. "Fairness and justice are not the prerogative of the powerful and strong. [The pan-blues] cannot simply use the fact that they are the majority party to casually impose a guilty verdict, overturning the choice of the people. Otherwise, this would be a re-enactment of the mock trials of China's Cultural Revolution -- this would be a humiliation of and insult to Taiwan's democracy and the rule of law."
Over the past six years, some individuals and parties have been hostile to A-bian, he said -- referring to himself in the third person by his nickname, as he often does -- and did whatever they could to attack him, with the clear goal of claiming power.
Because the pan-blue alliance is unable to accept the fact that it lost the presidential election in 2000, Chen said that they had launched a recall campaign six months into his presidency.
After he won re-election in 2004, Chen said that his election rivals, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
Although the suits were eventually thrown out of court, Chen said that the people paid a steep price because of the pan-blue camp's habitual boycotts in the legislature, which have paralyzed the functioning of his administration.
Over the past six years, Chen said that he has been exerting himself to make a better future for the nation and happiness of the 23 million people of Taiwan.
"But A-bian is human and humans make mistakes," he said. "I'm sorry and feel distraught over what happened and I even blame myself."
Chen said it is a serious matter for some politicians to manipulate the media and engage in a smear campaign, and to trample over other people's dignity and values just for the purpose of harvesting political gains.
Chen said that he had put up with all the insults and humiliations inflicted upon him by his political rivals because he has faith in Taiwan, its democratic system, judicial system and more importantly its people.
He said that he has always believed that everybody should be treated equally before the law. Those who commit a crime must accept punishment in accordance with the law regardless of the person's social status or connection.
"Even I, as the president, cannot and will not defend someone who does not deserve defending. Nor would the media and public allow me to do so," he said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"What kind of power can we take? Even if President Chen resigns and the vice president succeeds to the office, the DPP is still the governing party," he said.
Denouncing Chen for showing no "signs of reflection" in his newsletter, Ma said that rather than having a president whose family members are involved in a string of scandals, Lu, who has never been involved in any corruption scandals, has proved herself to be more suitable to serve as the nation's leader.
Ma said that he had preferred to wait for the first couple to be implicated directly in the scandals to which they have been linked before seeking Chen's ouster.
"But instead, President Chen was busy trading powers with party officials and preparing to fight against the trend. But he underestimated the wisdom of Taiwan's people," he said.
Pan-blue legislators yesterday also blasted Chen's remarks in his newsletter, saying it proved that the president hadn't reflected on the current scandals surrounding the first family.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih and Shih Hsiu-chuan
also see story:
Editorial: Taiwan, Banana Republic of China?
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS