President Chen Shui-bian (
"Every Taiwanese person has the obligation and right to express his or her voice at the crucial moment -- the presidential election and Taiwan's first ever referendum -- and we must let the international community understand our stance: Taiwan does not want missiles, we want to say `No' to China," Lee said during a rally last night in Taichuang County.
`ridiculous'
"While we advocate opposing China's missiles and military threats, they [the pan-blue camp] just advocate opposing the referendum," Lee said.
Lee also said the most ridiculous part of the campaign is that the heads of the "black gold" faction, the Chinese Nationalist Party's [KMT] Chairman Lien Chan (
"Can you believe it?" Lee said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) held huge campaign rallies last night in central Taiwan, including Taichung and Changhua counties.
Lee and Chen joined together to urge voters to make the referendum a success and re-elect Chen, bringing the rally to a climax.
Many DPP grassroots politicians reminded the public that since Chen took power in 2000, his government has made extraordinary achievements in improving the infrastructure of the greater Taichung area, something which the former KMT government failed to achieve during its decades in power.
Urging voters not to be affected by fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao's (
"Chen Yu-hao has become the pan-blue camp's top weapon. It is unbelievable that the KMT uses this fugitive, who left hundreds of millions of dallars of debt in Taiwan and stole money to invest in China, as its campaign manager," said DPP Legislator Lin Feng-his (
COUNTERATTACK
"We must appeal to Taiwanese people that Taiwan's democracy must win, now the country can never allow the return of `black gold,'" President Chen said last night.
He stressed that Chen Yu-hao's accusations against his family were just a counterattack by "black gold" culprits who expect a KMT victory to help them escape punishments.
"This is the cost that we pay to eradicate black gold," Chen said.
Earlier yesterday, Chen lead a motorcade rally through Pingtung County. Standing in the back of a jeep, Chen was greeted by enthusiastic supporters who waved green flags and placards along the roads and received the hails of "A-Bian, get elected."
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS