Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee stressed that he would endure criticism and physical pain if it meant fulfilling his goal of a better Taiwan.
"With the aims of fighting for a better Taiwan and stabilizing the country's political situation, I don't mind being criticized," the 78-year-old former KMT chairman said.
"Some might say I am getting old, but the older I get, the more courageous I become," Lee said.
Lee, who was expelled last month by the KMT for his endorsement of the TSU, considered a rival political group, made the comments when he was in Taichung yesterday campaigning for He Min-hao (
Lee reiterated that the reason he supported the TSU was because the pro-Taiwan and localization policies that he worked to implement during his 12 years in office had been abandoned by the KMT.
Another reason for his political comeback, he said, was owing to the fact that the ruling DPP had been continually stalled by a hostile, opposition-led legislature.
Attributing Taiwan's economic woes to the country's internal political discord, Lee said to those gathered at the rally that to free Taiwan from its political and economic predicaments, people must support the TSU "because there is no other way."
In response to people's concern about his ailing physical condition, the 78-year-old said that he would clench his teeth to withstand any physical problems because he has a grand idea in his mind -- to fight for a better future for Taiwan.
Meanwhile, KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Refraining from using Lee's name, Lien told a separate campaign rally in Taichung yesterday that "there is an old man, [who] despite being retired, still says absurdities everyday.
"Any individual who recognizes the Republic of China [ROC] and exists under the ROC political system should be considered an ROC citizen. There is no distinction between indigenous and alien regime," Lien said.
"Any government formed under the Constitutional system should be considered our government. All of the 23 million Taiwanese citizens should be treated the same. There should not be any differences between a native or [someone else]."
Lien, Lee's former vice president, called Lee's use of "alien regime" disheartening and an "an attempt to split the country apart."
Lee and his former party split apart after the presidential election last year when Lien, the KMT-nominated candidate who came in a distant third, attempted to cooperate with pro-unificationist James Soong (
Lee said that the old political force still could not accept the fact that Taiwan is now governed by Taiwanese, and that they intend to go against the political mainstream.
Lee said that he cannot bear the thought of seeing Taiwan returning to "alien" rule while he is alive.
Lee has in recent weeks bitterly attacked Lien of whom Lee has said that, though he holds a PhD in political science, he is ignorant of the basic principles of democracy.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS