Lawmakers called the president's credibility into question yesterday after a newly released book suggested that an office tryst similar to the Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton affair was taking place in the Presidential Office.
But officials from the Presidential Office were quick to defend President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday, calling the allegations despicable, denying that Chen was having an affair with Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), the president's translator.
During the national affairs forum at the legislature yesterday, KMT Legislator Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) cited paragraphs from the book Tang Fei -- in a Critical Era, written by Chou Yu-kou (
Although Liu acknowledged that the information has not been substantiated, the allegation has damaged the president's reputation nonetheless, the lawmaker claimed.
People First Party lawmaker Chen Chao-jung (
If the ex-boyfriend is still working for Beijing, Chen said, that could be cause for concern.
But Hsiao dismissed the rumors and the lawmakers' concerns yesterday, saying she had been targeted because she is a successful woman.
"As long as a woman is somewhat accomplished in her career, people will say [her achievements] have been gained by means of a physical relationship with others. This is upsetting," Hsiao said.
Hsiao said she was loyal to Taiwan, and that her relationship with her ex-boyfriend had ended years ago.
Chen, for his part, declined to comment on the allegations, sternly refusing media questions on the subject during a visit to an incinerator in Kaohsiung County yesterday.
Yu Shyi-kun, secretary-general to the Presidential Office, called the allegations a disgraceful way to slander the name of the president, or anybody else, for that matter.
DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) said the "baseless" accusation wouldn't affect the public's view of Chen, and that the charges would only leave the public with a bitter taste for politics and those who repeat the allegations.
Another official from the Presidential Office, who declined to be identified, said that the opposition's rumor-mongering was intended to discredit the president's leadership and decision-making process.
"Since Chen took office, the criticism has been focused on Chen's excessive reliance on a group of young aides, all of whom are in their early 30s and have been working for Chen since he was the mayor of Taipei," the source said.
The allegations "are merely another wave in an attack [on the president] because Hsiao happens to be a brilliant and charming woman, who works closely with Chen."
President Chen himself did not respond to the rumor yesterday.
Chou herself was involved in a sex scandal in early 1998 when she claimed that both she and another socialite had had adulterous affairs with Hwang Yih-jiau (
Hwang allegedly persuaded both women to have abortions when they each became pregnant.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
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The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
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