Lien accuses DPP of `green terror'
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
The search was conducted on suspicions that a cooking class co-organized by the KMT's Chuchi township branch and an associated local women's group was a scheme to buy votes.
"The government has turned Taiwanese society into something very horrible," Lien said when visiting the party's legislative candidates in Taipei County. "This is what Taiwan's democracy has come to."
Lien said the activity organized by the women's group was routine and was intended to promote community ties among local women.
Lien also said that the right of civil groups to assemble is threatened under the DPP's rule.
"In order to avoid getting into trouble, civil groups now have to submit name lists and the materials they use to authorities whenever they hold an activity," Lien said.
The KMT has traditionally obtained at least 15 percent of its vote support from vote-buying.
Also yesterday, the KMT launched another TV commercial that emphasizes the growing unemployment problem. According to the ad, "the unemployment rate has grown by one-and-a-half-fold in the one and a half years of the DPP's rule."
The commercial features a father and son taking part in a test given to prospective street cleaners -- a job opportunity that has become very competitive as the pool of unemployed people grows.
In the test, would-be applicants are required to carry a 20kg sandbag on their shoulders. The father, however, falls down in the middle of the race, and because the son stops to go over to help him up, both fail the test as a result.
On their way home, the father laments, "The country is going backwards. Of course people can't find a way to make a living."
KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang (王志剛) said the DPP must not turn a blind eye to the problem of unemployment because it is becoming increasingly severe.
Wang said that when the advertising agency was shooting the campaign commercial, many people thought that the recruitment test was real and expressed an interest in participating.
Opposition blasts plan for stipends
Opposition politicians yesterday criticized the Executive Yuan's plan to issue monthly stipends for the elderly as yet another example of "policy vote-buying."
They insisted that the plan should be carried out by legislation instead of an executive order.
The Executive Yuan has earmarked NT$1.6 billion for the program in its proposed budget for the next fiscal year. It, however, is not prepared to send a bill to the legislature for approval, but has decided to implement the plan with an executive order. The move would prevent the opposition, especially the KMT, from making changes to the program.
The KMT has put forth a bill that sets looser restrictions on the eligibility of beneficiaries, which would end up costing the government NT$5 billion annually.
Lee Cheng-chong (
Lee said restrictions set in the Executive Yuan's proposal are "unjustifiable," because, according to the promise made by President Chen Shui-bian (
Chou Hsi-wei (
Chou said the plan can never be implemented based on an executive order, as its implementation will involve the spending of national revenues and affect the overall welfare of the people.
"The program is one intended to win the votes of elderly people at the expense of other underprivileged groups," Chou said.
Chou pointed out that the government, while marking NT$1.6 billion for the elderly stipend program in next year's fiscal budget, has shrunk the welfare budgets for the mentally and physically challenged, children, adolescents, women, farmers, fishermen and laborers.
PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), meanwhile, proposed banning policies that may invite suspicion three months before an election on the grounds that they are intended to boost a party's election prospects.
TSU urges Lee not to share the stage
An official of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday said that it would be a bad idea for former president and TSU frontman Lee Teng-hui (
The party's spokesperson, Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強), said yesterday that the TSU's influence would be "diluted" if Chen and Lee -- the party's spiritual leader -- appear in campaign events together to stump for the pan-green alliance.
"As a smaller party, the TSU can't compete with the DPP in terms of political resources and strength," Shu said.
"Given that competing candidates from both parties will appear together where Chen and Lee share the stage, TSU supporters would be confused about whom to vote for."
Shu's answer was aimed at ending speculation by grassroots supporters of the pan-green force that Chen and Lee should share the stage to give the alliance a shot in the arm.
Proponents of the shared-stage idea said both parties would profit from such a move. They said that because the TSU does not have any candidates in the local government elections, the-appearance of Chen and Lee together should do no harm to either party.
On Thursday, Lee openly endorsed the DPP mayoral candidate Michael Tsai (
Fearing the incident will affect the TSU, Shu said the event happened "by coincidence."
DPP lashes out at opponents' cuts
The DPP yesterday accused opposition lawmakers of cutting the budget for local public infrastructure and funds for school children's high-tech education courses, saying the opposition has forgotten about protecting people's rights.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), campaigning yesterday in Ilan County, said that while the DPP government is devoted to increasing the budget to help local administrations improve public facilities, opposition lawmakers just cut the budget in the Legislative Yuan.
"Not only the NT$260 million for local government, which the Cabinet has drafted, but also NT$30 million for primary school students to take high-tech courses," Chen told 10,000 supporters at a rally last night. "Even the NT$20 million for subsidizing national universities was cut."
The president stressed that the opposition alliance simply doesn't want to let the A-bian administration move forward on any policies, adding they still refused to accept the loss of last year's presidential election.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also lashed out at opposition parties, accusing them of boycotting government budgets aimed at helping the nation's youth and the aged.
Hsieh yesterday held a press conference in Kaohsiung City to condemn the opposition legislators' performance.
"The legislature failed to pass a variety of bills due to the opposition camp's boycotts, which became the DPP's worst nightmare," Hsieh said.
Hsieh added that opposition lawmakers even vetoed the government's NT$600 million draft budget aimed at improving the quality of Internet education in the nation's elementary and primary schools.
Hsieh then urged citizens to vote for the ruling party's candidates in the elections and improve the effectiveness of the legislature.
Prosecutors seize suspected bribes
Prosecutors raided a Taichung County Farmers' Association yesterday and seized about NT$6 million in suspected bribes for the Dec. 1 elections, according to local media reports.
Prosecutor Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠), from the Taichung District Prosecutors' Office, along with more than 20 prosecutors and police, raided the association after receiving a tip-off yesterday morning.
More than 20 bundles of banknotes, totalling about NT$6 million, were found in a car belonging to a section chief of the association.
The names of several townships in Taichung County were written on the packs, prosecutors said. Flyers for a candidate running in the Dec. 1 legislative elections were found with the money, although prosecutors would not say who the candidate was.
KMT legislator Liu Chuan-chung (
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
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
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
‘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
RSS