President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) lambasted his opponents yesterday for resorting to unconstitutional means in an attempt to overthrow the country's democratically elected leaders.
Since the change of government in 2000, Chen said that some people have tried to paint his administration as one that stirs up ethnic tension.
"But it is not true," he said. "The allegation is just a smoke screen they cook up to hide their true intention of opposing democracy and reform."
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-DE, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen made the remarks while addressing the fourth anniversary of the Ketagalan Institute in Taipei yesterday morning. The president is the founder of the institution.
Chen said that the failed recall motion in November 2000 and disturbances after the presidential election in 2004, as well as last year's anti-Chen campaign, clearly indicated that his opponents have repeatedly tried to use illegal methods to try to bring down democratically elected leaders.
"I believe the public is well aware of who the real troublemaker is and who has deliberately created political confrontation and social unrest over the past seven years," he said. "They identified themselves with China, paralyzed the operations of the government and sent the country into an tailspin."
Chen said that his administration opposes one-party rule, which explains why it wants to reclaim the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets for the people.
His administration opposes personality cults and this is why it wants to affix the historic responsibility of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
It also opposes the "Great China" ideology and that is why it has been pushing the name-change campaign, for a new constitution and for accession to UN and other international organizations with the name "Taiwan," Chen said.
The president's comments came on the same day that former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Shih made the comments as he concluded a period of isolation yesterday. He started a period of "self-imprisonment" in a Taipei apartment on Dec. 5, saying at the time he would stay inside the apartment until Chen stepped down.
However, Shih did make a trip to the US in late February, reportedly for medical treatment.
At a press conference in Taipei yesterday, Shih said that while he would not run in the year-end legislative elections, the anti-Chen campaign would organize a "third force" and nominate candidates to offer the people a choice beyond the green-versus-blue division.
He said campaign staffers had anticipated that "Chen or the Democratic Progressive Party could break Chen's promise made last Nov. 5 that he would step down if first lady Wu Shu-jen (
"We have to be fully prepared before that day comes," Shih said.
He did not, however, provide any specific details about his new anti-Chen campaign.
Shih went on to criticize the president as a "potential and indicted criminal who counts on constitutional immunity."
The Constitution stipulates that the president enjoys immunity from prosecution unless charged with treason or sedition.
Titling the press conference "The Red Will Rise Again," campaign spokesman Chang Fu-chung (
The press conference was interrupted at one point by a man who said he had been a supporter of the anti-Chen campaign. The man criticized Shih for deceiving the anti-Chen supporters.
Meanwhile, DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) dismissed Shih's remarks as "a joke on April Fools' Day," and said he hoped Shih would stop manipulating the feelings of Taiwanese.
"He thought Taiwanese were like fools who would stupidly follow him if he summoned them," Gao said.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
Noting that Shih had previously said that his anti-Chen coalition was not interested in forming a political force or running for public office, Gao and Ker criticized Shih for putting his red-clad followers in a more difficult position by breaking his promises.
Asked for comments, People First Party Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said Shih's campaign last year failed not only to force Chen to resign but also helped reinforce Chen's authority.
If the anti-Chen campaign could not touch the people's hearts, Shih's new campaign may not be able to accomplish its goal either, Lee said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus whip Tseng Tsahn-Deng (
Shih was badly mistaken if he believed a second campaign could force Chen to step down, Tseng said.
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
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
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