Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟), the president of the Ketagalan Academy, a talent-training institute, urged opposition politicians to stop trying to discredit the academy, saying he welcomed opposition leaders to follow the DPP's example by establishing such an institution with leftover campaign funds.
Chen Shih-meng said the academy was founded with campaign funding left over from President Chen Shui-bian's (
He said it was pointless for the opposition parties to accuse government officials of violating administrative neutrality by joining the program because the institution is not affiliated with the DPP.
"Academy officials are entitled to enroll people from any social group in classes," he said.
Chen Shih-meng made the comments yesterday after he announced that the academy is going to introduce a series of courses on Aborigines.
Launched on March 29, the academy is a brainchild of President Chen and is expected to nurture politically adept officials for roles in the DPP administration. The students and lecturers are predominantly DPP members, or those who are friendly with the party.
Opposition politicians have questioned the motives behind the founding of the school, saying it simply provides an opportunity for those who are seeking to foster ties with the DPP.
The first session is focusing on national leadership and development strategies.
In May the academy will launch a study of Aboriginal research. It will also introduce a youth camp in the summer.
Academy officials said they welcome governmental administrators in charge of Aboriginal affairs to join the program to have a deeper understanding of the ethnic group and to forge a new partnership between the nation and Aborigines.
Sun Ta-chuan (
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
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