Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) yesterday said that former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) attendance at a Chinese military parade would be referred to the party’s disciplinary committee “for discussion.”
Responding to some KMT members’ call for disciplinary actions against Lien, who attended the military parade marking the end of World War II in Beijing on Thursday against the party’s wishes, Chu reiterated that the party was committed to upholding the truth about the Republic of China government’s role in the war and had instructed party officials not to attend the parade.
“As for some [retired] senior party officials and individual party members [who attended the parade], there are differing opinions within the party [about the issue]. Since the KMT is a democratic party, we will, in line with these opinions, have their cases referred to relevant units, such as the party’s Evaluation and Discipline Committee or the Central Standing Committee, for discussion,” Chu said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
KMT Legislator Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) on Thursday voiced his strong opposition to Lien’s actions, demanding that the party “impose disciplinary measures ... to demonstrate the party’s stance.”
He toned down his criticism yesterday, saying he did not want to elaborate on his views for fear of the consequences, but reiterated that party headquarters should take disciplinary action, the severity of which should be decided by party officials, to clarify the party’s stance.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), director of the party’s disciplinary committee, said the committee operates through a collegial model, so a decision would have to be made based on a consensus.
Photo: CNA
Lien returned to Taiwan late on Thursday and was met with protests from members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union Youth League and other pro-independence groups at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Demonstrators held up banners that read: “Traitor Lien Chan” and “Lien is a Red Ghost,” shouted slogans such as “Lien has sold out his country” and demanded that his pensions be cut off.
The group clashed with the police when they tried to break through the cordon and someone attempted to throw a shoe at Lien. They were forced out of the terminal, where they held a press conference to continue their protests.
“Anyone has the right to kill” a traitor to the nation, they said, a play on Lien’s comments in 2004 when he said “anyone has the right to kill a cheat,” implying that former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) cheated and won in the wake of the election-eve shooting that year.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
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