Independent Legislator Sisy Chen (
She also said that all of the allegations she made on the eve of the election concerning the assassination attempt on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were based on information provided by the alliance's campaign headquarters, in an apparent challenge to the veracity of comments made by Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou on March 19.
Her remarks came in the midst of a storm of criticism from a number of pan-blue legislators who, believing that her baseless allegations at the March 19 press conference had provoked resentment in undecided voters and may have drawn support to President Chen Shui-bian, and that she should be responsible for the defeat of the alliance in the March 20 presidential election.
On Monday, KMT Spokesman Alex Tsai (
Defending herself, Sisy Chen placed a phone call to a call-in TV talk show late Monday night.
The topic of the call-in program then was whether Sisy Chen should be responsible for the pan-blue camp's defeat in the election.
Sisy Chen, a former spokeswoman for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who now supports the pan-blue camp and has been acting as its "advisor," held a press conference at the KMT-PFP alliance's campaign headquarters at midnight on March 19, saying that the hospital had faked the medical records of Chen Shui-bian and Lu, who were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt earlier that afternoon.
At the press conference -- with Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) also present in his capacity as the national chief of the alliance's campaign -- Sisy Chen insinuated that the shooting was "just a trick" to win sympathy and claimed to have information from "an anonymous nurse" that the national security system was involved in the conspiracy. She has not at any time produced evidence to back her claims.
"Statements I made during the March 19 press conference relevant to the election-eve shooting [of Chen Shui-bian and Lu] were not my personal opinion," Sisy Chen said on Monday, contradicting a statement made on March 19 by Ma.
At the press conference, Ma made a point of saying that everything Sisy Chen said during the conference was her own opinion. At that time she did not contest his assertion, and told reporters that Ma included the disclaimer with her acquiesence.
A number of pan-blue legislators believe that her "wild allegations" at the March 19 press conference had turned off undecided voters and led them to support Chen Shui-bian.
"I can tell everyone that all the information was provided by the [KMT-PFP] alliance's national campaign headquarters," she said, adding that KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
In response to Sisy Chen's remarks, Ma yesterday said that although he was present at the press conference, he knew only part of what she was going to say at the press conference beforehand.
Although not a member of the alliance, the sharp-tongued Sisy Chen, one of the president's most obdurate critics, has been a great boost to the pan-blue camp. While her opinions and advice had been valued by the alliance's leaders, she also drew ire from some members of the pan-blue camp, who accused her of meddling.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
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