President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) stressed his tough stance against "black-gold" politics yesterday, saying his administration would not tolerate any gangsters in the political arena.
"The best way to achieve this goal is by barring gangsters from running for office. If they do run, [people] should not vote for them so they won't get elected.
"Even if they are elected, [the government] won't allow them to continue their evil doings," Chen said in Changhua County, receiving enthusiastic applause from tens of thousands of supporters at a DPP campaign rally.
Speaking in the agricultural county last night, Chen also urged farmers to upgrade their technology in light of Taiwan's WTO accession, which he said would hurt the country's farming population.
He said, however, that farmers could use the opportunity to improve Taiwan's agricultural competitiveness.
Chen said that in the long run, the country's international competitiveness will be greatly improved following WTO accession. The Council of Agriculture had previously estimated that roughly 43,000 people would be forced to quit their farming careers following WTO admission.
The DPP will be represented in the agricultural area by Wong Chin-chu (
Continuing his intense campaign tour, Chen yesterday also appeared in central Taichung County and northern Taipei.
In the morning, Chen attended a campaign rally organized by the party's Aboriginal candidate, Chen Yi-hsin (
"As long as the DPP garners two seats, the needs of Aboriginal groups can be fully voiced and heard," Chen told the crowd.
Other DPP heavyweights -- including Vice President Annette Lu (
While stumping for mayoral candidate Michael Tsai (
Meanwhile, Hsieh, on the island of Kinmen yesterday, lashed out at opposition parties, saying they did nothing but criticize the president. Defending Chen, Hsieh called rival parties "mentally unhealthy" and said that they have scared foreign investors out of the country, further jeopardizing Taiwan's economic position.
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
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Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
‘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
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