The family and friends of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday denied a media report saying he had instructed his followers, known as the One Side, One Country Alliance (OSOCA, 一邊一國連線), to set up a new political party.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that Chen, who is serving an 18-and-a-half year prison sentence for corruption and is currently in hospital being treated for various ailments, told visiting friends on Monday that he was not happy with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to get him medical parole and that “the time is ripe” for establishing a party.
Chen’s office confirmed the Monday meeting between Chen and Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) and Taipei City Councilor Chiang Chih-ming (江志銘) in a press release yesterday, but said Chen did not mention establishing a party during their conversation.
Chen’s wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍), who visited the former president at Taipei Veterans General Hospital yesterday, also denied the report, adding that Chen appreciated the DPP’s assistance.
Creating party division and tensions between pan-green parties to seek medical parole for her husband was the last thing on her mind, Wu said.
“That would benefit the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and if anyone tried to do that, it would be out of ill intentions,” she said.
Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), accused the newspaper of exploiting his father, who is recovering from surgery to cure sleep apnea, and requires further treatment for depression and vascular dementia.
“My father is too weak to talk about politics right now,” he said.
Chen Chih-chung said his father had in June set four pre-conditions for establishing a new party — strong public support, consensus within the faction, integration of pro-Taiwan political forces and good timing.
DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) shunned media inquiries after visiting the former president and directed questions about the rumor to DPP Legislator Gao Gyh-peng (高志鵬), who is an OSOCA member.
Gao said Chen Shui-bian had never mentioned establishing a party or encouraged anyone to do so, but “he did say he hoped that the OSOCA could compete with the TSU in the elections in 2014.”
“He reiterated his loyalty to the DPP and he would never do anything to hurt the party. The media report is absolutely groundless,” Gao said.
Chiang said that what Chen Shui-bian wanted was for the association to expand its outreach and collaborate with as many grassroots civic groups as possible to do well in local council elections.
DPP legislators who are also members of the OSOCA, including Mark Chen (陳唐山), Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), said they were neither aware nor knew anything about such a plan.
Unlike other major groupings within the DPP, the OSOCA is a relatively loose association that includes seven legislators and 34 city councilors in the five special municipalities.
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
A Vietnamese migrant worker yesterday won NT$12 million (US$379,627) on a Lunar New Year scratch card in Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan Lottery Co’s (台灣彩券) “NT$12 Million Grand Fortune” (1200萬大吉利) game. The man was the first top-prize winner of the new game launched on Jan. 6 to mark the Lunar New Year. Three Vietnamese migrant workers visited a Taiwan Lottery shop on Xinyue Street in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (崗山), a store representative said. The player bought multiple tickets and, after winning nothing, held the final lottery ticket in one hand and rubbed the store’s statue of the Maitreya Buddha’s belly with the other,
‘NATO-PLUS’: ‘Our strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific are facing increasing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party,’ US Representative Rob Wittman said The US House of Representatives on Monday released its version of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes US$1.15 billion to support security cooperation with Taiwan. The omnibus act, covering US$1.2 trillion of spending, allocates US$1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative, as well as US$150 million for the replacement of defense articles and reimbursement of defense services provided to Taiwan. The fund allocations were based on the US National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2026 that was passed by the US Congress last month and authorized up to US$1 billion to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in support of the
‘COMMITTED TO DETERRENCE’: Washington would stand by its allies, but it can only help as much as countries help themselves, Raymond Greene said The US is committed to deterrence in the first island chain, but it should not bear the burden alone, as “freedom is not free,” American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said in a speech at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research’s “Strengthening Resilience: Defense as the Engine of Development” seminar in Taipei yesterday. In the speech, titled “Investing Together and a Secure and Prosperous Future,” Greene highlighted the contributions of US President Donald Trump’s administration to Taiwan’s defense efforts, including the establishment of supply chains for drones and autonomous systems, offers of security assistance and the expansion of
RSS