Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
"It's a bad thing that the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] is saying that my husband beat me because he treats me very well," she told reporters at the pan-blue alliance's campaign headquarters yesterday evening.
Her appearance came several hours after a former neighbor of the couple had issued a statement saying that he had heard of rumors decades ago that Lien beat his wife.
Lin Fu-shen (
Lin's statement said that when he was a neighbor of the Lien family between 1968 and 1970, he heard Lien's maid saying Lien would sometimes beat his wife.
Lin and Lien were members of National Taiwan University's political science department at the time.
"Mr Lien Chan's maid would come to my place to chat with my maid, talking about some episodes in the Lien family's life," the 76-year old Lin wrote.
"[Lien's maid said] Lien sometimes would abuse and beat Fang Yu," Lin wrote.
Lien Fang Yu appeared at the campaign headquarters along with a woman who had worked as a maid for the Lien family during the period mentioned by Lin.
The woman, surnamed Wen, told reporters that she had been surprised by allegations that Lien Chan was a wifebeater because he and his wife were a loving couple.
She said she had worked for the couple for seven years and had never seen the KMT chief beat his wife.
In a phone call with the Taipei Times earlier in the day, Lin said that he and Lien were friends.
"I just happened to hear the chitchat between the maids when I was in the living room when they were talking in there. I did not ask for further details," Lin said.
"I issued the statement because I watched the debate between the two presidential candidates, and when Chen [Shui-bian (
"But Chen was not saying that anyone was a wifebeater, and so I decided to issue my statement," Lin said.
Lin's statement enraged the KMT.
"The incident mentioned by Lin Fu-shen in his statement happened over 30 years ago, and it was hearsay from his maid. It was not something he saw personally. If Lin really knows that Lien beats his wife, why doesn't he show up [in public]?" said KMT spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (
Kuo urged the DPP to refrain from mudslinging in the campaign and refocus its election strategy on national policies.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS