The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday denied that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) family members or any members of the Chen administration had taken bribes from Tuntex Group's (東帝士集團) former chairman Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪), who pubished an ad in a Chinese-language evening paper reiterating his previous allegations.
"Coming just 19 days before election day, it is clear that Chen Yu-hao's action is a trick with which he is hoping to dominate the last phase of the presidential campaign," said Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (
"President Chen frankly discussed the relationship between himself and Chen Yu-hao during a televised interview last month, and therefore the Presidential Office will not respond further to the groundless allegations," Huang said.
"Moreover, we urge Chen Yu-hao to immediately return to Taiwan to state his case in front of the judiciary, instead of hiding in the shadows and trying to tarnish others' reputations through the media and ads," he said.
On Feb. 2, Chen Yu-hao -- who is listed as one of Taiwan's top 10 most-wanted criminals over his alleged embezzlement -- released "three public letters to President Chen," which said that he had provided political donations to the president and was even asked to pay money to Chen's aides.
At the time, the DPP asserted that Chen Yu-hao was just a tool being manipulated by the pan-blue alliance to assist Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (
Taiwan Financial Assets Services Corp (TFASC,
President Chen Shui-bian and campaign headquarters spokesman Wu Nai-jen (
A local newspaper yesterday ran a two-page interview with Chen Yu-hao, in which he said that political donations the DPP and Chen had received from his company were much more than the party and the first family admitted.
He also said that he had given a NT$10 million bribe to DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chen Che-nan (
The aide said he would speak to the tycoon's banks to try to buy him more time to pay off loans, Chen Yu-hao told the reporter from his home in San Francisco. He said he did not know where the money ended up.
Chen Yu-hao claimed that he was once accompanied by a DPP elder to personally hand over a donation of NT$3 million to the president's wife Wu Shu-chen (
James Huang read a statement during yesterday's press conference that the first lady neither met with Chen Yu-hao in private nor received any cash or checks from this businessman.
Chen Che-nan and Chang Ching-sen both said yesterday that Chen Yu-hao's allegation was merely a campaign trick.
"Chen's remarks were proven to be groundless last month," Chen Che-nan told the media yesterday morning. "The reason why he continues to tarnish us is obviously to influence the presidential election."
Last month, the DPP said that Chen Yu-hao did give NT$10 million in campaign funds during the 2000 presidential race, while the KMT also admitted accepting NT$100 million from the fugitive.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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