Lawyers representing defeated presidential candidate Lien Chan (
The suit was filed against the Central Election Commission (CEC) and all local election commissions across the nation's 21 cities and counties, said Huang Kuo-chung (
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang, speaking at KMT headquarters yesterday, said the pan-blue camp is asking the Taiwan High Court to declare the election illegal and invalid.
The lawsuit, which follows a suit filed last Monday requesting a recount and the suspension the elected status of President Chen Shui-bian (
Lee Fu-tien (
"The election should be considered invalid because the CEC had illegally held the presidential election alongside the referendum," Lee said.
According to Lee, holding a referendum on sovereignty issues alongside major national elections is against the Referendum Law.
"Second, the suit was filed against the CEC for failing to postpone the election in view of the mysterious election-eve gunshot incident," Lee said, claiming that the commission failed to exercise its authority independently and fairly in the election.
A gunshot grazed Chen's stomach and hit Lu in the knee on March 19 when the two were campaigning in Tainan.
Calling the incident mysterious, the KMT-PFP alliance claims the incident unfairly swayed the election as it led to sympathy votes for Chen.
Explaining their third reason for filing the suit, Lien's lawyers claimed that "there was serious fraud in the process of the election."
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex