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.
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
RSS