The two biggest losers in yesterday's election made appeals and offered excuses as the dust settled and Chen Shui-bian
Independent candidate Hsu Hsin-liang
Hsu held a post-election press conference to congratulate Chen and to call on the public to reunite after a divisive election campaign. The former chairman of the DPP, Hsu left the party to make his ill-fated bid for the presidency.
FILE PHOTO
Hsu said he sincerely accepted the voters' choice and appealed to Chen to ease cross-strait tensions and promote the public's confidence in Taiwan's economy.
Hsu did not say much about his future nor did he directly answer speculation that he might try to found a new party.
"I never felt frustrated and will keep going," he said.
FILE PHOTO
New Party vice-presidential candidate Elmer Feng (馮滬祥) also held a post-election press conference, in the absence of the party's presidential candidate Li Ao (李敖), to blame his party's loss on a rumor, saying President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) wanted to "Dump Lien to save Chen" (棄連保陳).
The New Party made an abysmal showing, eking out just 0.1 percent of the total, or 16,782 votes.
The convener of the New Party caucus, Hao Lung-bin (郝龍斌), said Chen's victory was mainly based on anti-China sentiment,along with Academic Sinica president Lee Yuan-tseh's (李遠哲) powerful support for Chen and the divisions within the KMT.
Hao said threatening statements from Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji (朱鎔基) triggered Taiwanese voters' negative emotions and pushed them towards Chen. However, Hao emphasized that "the [Taiwanese] anti-China complex doesn't mean that Taiwanese espouse independence."
Responding to general doubt about the New Party's future, Hao said the poor showing was not equal to the party's demise.
"Li and Feng's endeavors in the election campaign have reached the goal of promoting the New Party's propaganda," Hao said.
Li didn't even show up at the New Party's post-election press conference, saying he was not interested in the result and was happy that the election had finally come to an end. Although Li refused to join the party as a member, he stood as its candidate.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS