Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
The minister was obviously upset about the pan-blue camp's constant criticisms over the past week as he attended a breakfast meeting with Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) lawmakers at the Legislative Yuan.
"First of all, I would say that Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] Chairman Lien Chan (
The minister said that to recount the ballots, everything had to be processed according to law.
However, he said, because of their political ambitions , Lien and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had constantly tried a variety of possibilities to get judges and the Central Election Committee (CEC) to stage a recount, and they did not show any respect toward justice at all.
"These actions are against the Constitution. If a recount is requested, everybody should follow the law and let judges do their jobs," Chen said. "How can a person like him [Lien] become our president?"
The minister also complained that the pan-blue camp had been trying to take advantage of the legislature to interfere with the judicial system, referring to attempts by KMT and PFP lawmakers to establish a special task force to investigate the shooting of President Chen Shui-bian (
"All law enforcement officers and experts are now working on the case. Everybody wants to arrest the gunman as soon as possible," the minister said.
"It seems to be that their [the pan-blue camp] attitude shows that they do not trust our officers at all. This is absurd," he said.
He said the pan-blue camp was actually trying to start a revolution by questioning the shooting and staging demonstrations to back their demands for a recount.
Chen Ding-nan said Soong had constantly tried to humiliate the judiciary.
"Remember what he said when prosecutors decided not to indict him over the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal?" the minister said. "He said, `Thank you justice, for clearing my name.' Now he is complaining that justice is not fair."
"Lien and Soong do not respect the justice system at all," he said.
"How can they lead the public to learn how to do it [respect the system]? I don't think they can," he said.
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
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
The New Taipei City Social Welfare Department on Thursday celebrated Paralympic competitor Chen Tzu-wei (張孜維), who received last year’s national Golden Eagle award for exemplary achievement by Taiwanese with disabilities. Chen, who suffers from childhood-onset muscular dystrophy, did not attend the first award ceremony held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in November due to illness. Chen was formally presented with the award at the department, where he gave thanks to government workers for supporting his education and livelihood, the department said in a statement. Chen was raised by the Ai-hsin Home for Persons with Disabilities in the city’s Bali District (八里)
RSS