Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh's (
Despite her disapproval of her ex-husband's campaign against Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Shih's former wife Chen Li-chu (陳麗珠) showed up at the Legislative Yuan compound yesterday morning before DPP Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶) was scheduled to hold a press conference to reveal the letter.
Lin was forced to scrap his announcement and let Chen Li-chu tell her tale.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
"I'm the owner of the letter, so I should be the one to tell the public what really happened," she said.
"I've put up with him [Shih] for over 40 years and have never done anything to hurt him. I don't understand why he is so cruel to me. I really don't," Chen Li-chu said.
She threatened to expose what she claimed were "immoral" incidents and "incest" in Shih's family if he and his family continued to provoke her by calling her a "whore" and denying the authenticity of the letter to Chiang. She did not elaborate.
The tearful 60-something Chen Li-chu said that she had taken the train from Kaohsiung to Taipei on Monday night, hoping to stop Lin before he revealed the contents of the letter.
She said that she had been offered NT$2 million (US$62,500) for the letter, but had turned it down.
"It's priceless. I would not sell it even for NT$20 billion, because it contains evidence of the Chinese Nationalist Party's [KMT] hideous crimes," she said.
Lin said that he had obtained a copy of the letter from a friend of Chen Li-chu. Shih had written the original in pencil and had given it to Chen Li-chu to smuggle out of prison, after which it had been transcribed in ink.
Chen Li-chu said that although she was disappointed with President Chen, he was nonetheless the country's elected leader.
Chen Li-chu brought a heavy black bag to the press conference, saying it contained thousands of letters Shih had written to her and the then KMT government during his incarceration, as well as the government's responses.
She also thanked the president for giving Shih NT$2 million (US$61,260) to help pay for their daughter Shih Shueh-hui's (
Chen Li-chu said that she did not know where the money had come from until she read a report in a newspaper a few days ago, but said that Shih had given her only NT$200,000.
DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (
Wang called on Shih to present a clear account of how much money he had received from the president and how he spent it.
While Shih's lawyer has said that Shih spent only NT$6 million on a condominium which Wang claimed had been a gift from fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (
Even if Shih did spend NT$6 million on the condo, Wang said, he still owed the public an explanation why he did not list the condo in his 2001 financial declaration.
Shih's lawyer, who used a purchase contract to show that Shih had bought the property for NT$6 million, has said that Shih was considering filing a lawsuit against Wang.
Wang said yesterday that he would welcome a lawsuit, because he had "key evidence" to divulge to the court.
Shih, at a press conference held yesterday to announce that his anti-Chen campaign had achieved its fundraising goal of NT$100 million, made no mention of the letter.
He refused to take questions from reporters.
Ho De-fen (
"Even if Shih did [write the letter], it would have been understandable for someone in his position. Except for former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (
She said that Shih would not respond to allegations aimed at him.
also see stories:
NPA to deploy `special police' for sit-in
DPP legislators want funds raised by Shih to be frozen
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS