Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
"There is no violence in my family," Lien answered briefly as reporters asked for his comment on the report.
Lien yesterday published a new book amid spiraling rumors of his wife-beating, triggered by a report in the latest issue of Next magazine.
Confronted with a letter the magazine claimed had been written by his daughter, Lien Hui-hsin (連惠心), to complain about her father beating his wife, Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀), Lien Chan refused to respond to details in the letter.
Lien's book, Only Changes Can Bring Hope, illustrates the KMT presidential candidate's models of national leaders. The eight-chapter book, Lien said, explained how he planned to solve the problems facing the country.
After conversations with grassroots supporters over the past few years, Lien said he analyzed problems generated during the course of Taiwan's democratization.
"I also mapped out the goals Taiwan should achieve," he said.
Also covering his observation of changes and developments in international politics over the years, Lien said he would rule the country by three principles he coined if elected -- "the Principle of the New Taiwanese, the Principle of New Development and the Principle of New Cooperation."
Based on the three principles, the KMT presidential hopeful promised to create "clean politics, a vibrant economy, a just society, win-win cross-strait policies and an efficient government" for the Taiwanese people.
"I hope President Chen Shui-bian (
"The problems Taiwan is facing now were all caused by Chen's government." he said.
Attacking Chen's "self-confining" ideology and "old-fashioned" ideas, Lien said Taiwan underwent significant changes since his rival took power four years ago.
"Unfortunately, these changes only led Taiwan in the wrong direction," he said.
Taiwan's politics, economy and society have all deteriorated as a result of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's administration, Lien said.
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times