The Presidential Office and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday defended President Chen Shui-bian (
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
The opposition parties yesterday demanded that Chen and Lee apologize to the public if they could not provide evidence to back up their claims. The PFP filed a lawsuit against Chen and Lee yesterday afternoon.
"Such an allegation was complete nonsense," KMT deputy spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that the allegation was terrible because it seriously misled the public and tarnished the spirit of the Constitution.
"Demonstrations are a basic right of the people in accordance with the Constitution. You can't just distort the facts by calling the unexpected disorder during those protests a coup d'etat," Wang said when asked to comment on Chen's remarks.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said that he was astounded when he heard the president's accusation.
"A national leader cannot make remarks arbitrarily and should not take what he says lightly," Ma said after a meeting at City Hall. "Chen should take responsibility for his inappropriate remarks."
"A coup indicates a crime against the internal security of the state. It is quite a serious accusation," Ma said.
"If the president can offer evidence, he could bring those involved to justice, including me," Ma said. "If he cannot, President Chen should take back his words and apologize to the public."
The KMT legislative caucus whip also asked the government to clarify Chen's remarks because the president's allegation had humiliated the military and the police force.
In response, Presidential Office Spokesman James Huang (
"Those remarks and actions seriously damaged the stability and security of our country. President Chen honestly spoke the truth, and we believe most people in our society have the same feeling as the president," Huang said.
"The president did not label anyone, and therefore, it is not necessary to apologize," he said.
The DPP legislative caucus said that a better way to describe the opposition's protests would be an "unsuccessful revolution."
"The media repeatedly reported since the presidential election that some pan-blue-camp leaders asked mayors and commissioners who are KMT members to organize another central government. The PFP's official Web site encouraged supporters to form dare-to-die corps to break into the Presidential Office, and some KMT-PFP legislators even urged the military and police departments to start an uprising," said DPP legislative caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯).
"The president pertinently described the momentum and developments on those seven days. If you ask us, we would say that it was actually a revolution," he said.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) defended Lee, former KMT chairman and now the TSU's spiritual leader, saying that government intelligence showed that there were some groups and politicians who had tried to whip up their supporters' emotions into an uprising.
"Former president Lee realized the dangerous situation and that was why he persuaded Minister of National Defense Tang Yao-ming (
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