A majority of respondents in a recent survey said the timing of the indictment of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) on corruption charges last week was politically motivated.
However, some respondents to the poll conducted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) also said that if Lee were found guilty — which would make him the second democratically elected president to go to prison — it could have an impact on their support for DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in the January election.
CONTRARY
The responses somewhat contradicted comments by DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) that downplayed the impact of the indictment on the January elections.
Chen said the impact on Tsai’s prospects were difficult to analyze given the razor-thin margin between her and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking re-election, in recent media polls.
“The entire incident is still taking shape and it is not yet clear whether it will result in any sort of decisive implications for Tsai,” Chen said.
The poll showed that overall, 5.3 percent of respondents believed that support for Tsai would take a hit if Lee were found guilty, given the close relations between the two. More significantly, however, a breakdown by supporters showed that 82.1 percent of pan-blue voters said Tsai would not be affected if Lee were found guilty.
The former president, a former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, is also the spiritual leader of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, which maintains close relations with the DPP. Lee has endorsed Tsai’s bid for president.
TIMING
The DPP survey, conducted on Friday and Monday, shows that 52 percent of respondents and 78.3 percent from self-professed Tsai supporters believed the indictment was timed to affect the elections.
Lee was charged last month with siphoning US$7.8 million from secret diplomatic funds to establish a private think tank when he was in office between 1988 and 2000. He has maintained his innocence, calling the allegations baseless.
The DPP survey polled 1,028 voters and has a margin of error of 3.1 percent.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2