A prominent Christian minister who played a key role in Taiwan's democratization yesterday criticized the campaign by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Reverend Kao Chun-ming (
Kao spoke specifically about Shih's campaign to force President Chen Shui-bian (
In 1979, when Shih was the most-wanted fugitive after the Kaohsiung Incident -- a democracy protest that turned into a clash with police -- Kao gave Shih asylum and helped keep him in hiding. He ignored a bounty of NT$3 million (US$91,500) for reporting Shih's whereabouts, and was later arrested by the authoritarian government and jailed for four years and three months for helping the fugitive.
Kao yesterday said that a number of people had been asking him whether he regretted aiding Shih 20 years ago in the light of recent events.
"I do not regret it at all. I protected Shih because I love Taiwan. It was my honor to have suffered for my love of Taiwan. It was worth doing," Kao said.
Kao also delivered a stinging, if oblique, critique of Shih's claims to moral authority.
The reverend said that avarice was the root of vice, and a basic principle for people who truly loved their community was to resist the lure of money, sex and alcohol.
A number of Shih's former acquaintances, including two ex-wives, have criticized Shih's personal habits and sense of financial responsibility since the campaign to unseat the president began.
Kao also made reference to allegations that Shih was receiving money from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Beijing or both.
"It is also important to say no to the temptation of scrambling for power and profit," Kao said.
"If political figures cannot resist these temptations, forcing 100 presidents to step down in the hope of `saving Taiwan' would be in vain," he added.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique