Some of the remaining members of the self-styled "Million Voices Against Corruption" campaign were outraged to discover that their headquarters on Chongqing S Road has been closed without warning and that their erstwhile leader has left the country, the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported yesterday.
About 10 protesters gathered outside the locked metal door to protest on Wednesday, but were dispersed after campaign leaders called the police.
The office was closed just days after former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德), who had pledged to "imprison" himself in his apartment until President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) left office, traveled to the US on Feb. 15, reportedly for medical treatment.
Campaign spokesperson Chang Fu-chung (張富忠) said yesterday that Shih had undergone surgery for liver cancer.
Shih also plans to stop in Japan for media interviews on his way home early next month.
"The man who said he was going to `imprison' himself has instead taken his family to live happily in the US. Now where are his red-clad troops supposed to go?" one-time supporter Chu Cheng-hsien (朱成憲) asked, according to the newspaper.
Others said that the headquarters should be transformed into "Shih Ming-teh Memorial Hall."
Protesters pasted signs on the door calling Shih a "big liar" and "more vile than Chen and more shameless than [first lady] Wu Shu-jen (
The group also accused Shih of "swindling people out of their hard-earned money," by using the donations he collected to travel abroad with his wife.
However, Chang denied that Shih had used donated funds to finance the trip, and said that campaign leaders were only taking a one-week break. He said that details of how the campaign money had been spent have been posted on the group's Web site.
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