Chen defends his government, actions

On the inciting of ethnic antagonism, Chen said he had in fact been a victim. If it were not for such antagonism, he said, he would have won re-election as Taipei mayor.

Chen also dismissed the accusation that he had suppressed the media and freedom of speech, declaring that he would rather be harshly criticized by the media than contain media freedom.

Chen rebutted allegations that his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) had improperly received Pacific Sogo Department Store vouchers.

Chen said he and Wu had never been involved in the transfer of management at the department store and did not know anything about his son-in-law Chao Chien-ming's (趙建銘) case until he read the newspaper. Chao's alleged insider trading had nothing to do with the first family, he said.

Chen said the economic performance of the nation would have been more impressive if there were not so much political strife.

Pan-blue legislators told a press conference after the broadcast that Chen failed to shed light on the scandals.

People First Party caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said the only message Chen got across in his address was "It is the fault of other people, not me."

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) said Chen avoided the questions he did not want to answer and only touched on what he felt comfortable responding to.

KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was scheduled to make a televised response to Chen's address tonight, KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) announced earlier yesterday.

Cheng told a press conference at KMT headquarters that Ma would deliver the speech from his office in the building, but would not take questions from the media.

Yesterday morning, KMT policy committee director Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) and around 50 pan-blue legislators led supporters to protest in front of the Presidential Office building over Chen electing not to respond to the legislature.

The protesters chanted that the president's decision not to reply to the legislature implied he knew that he was guilty.

The pan-blue legislators, carrying white banners saying that "the president should respond to the legislature," broke through police lines in front of the building.

A group of Democratic Progressive Party city councilors and candidates for the year-end city councilor elections led pan-green supporters in a demonstration against the pan-blue camp protest.

The two groups yelled at each other for about 10 minutes, but police kept them apart.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan

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