Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday urged the convener of the March 19 Shooting Truth Investigation Special Committee Shih Chi-yang (
The DPP officials said such commentary only exposed the essence of the committee, which was contempt for the law.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
In a news conference held after the DPP's weekly Central Standing Committee, the officials showed video footage from two call-in TV shows aired Monday night in which committee member Yeh Yao-peng (
"Yeh's behavior gave the game away. The investigative committee is simply a means for the pan-blue camp to denigrate the president," DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said.
"We strongly suspected that the pan-blue camp wanted to use this committee to overturn the results of the presidential election in case it loses the election lawsuit that will be judged soon," Chung said.
Chung said committee members are supposed to obey a gag order, but Yeh has been talking about his theories on shootings ever since March 20 and has continued to do so despite being chosen as a committee member.
Chung asked Shin to make it clear to the committee members that they cannot comment on the case.
"Otherwise, people will quickly perceive the illegitimacy of this organization," Chung said.
According to Chung, Vice President Annette Lu (
In related news, Chung said DPP headquarters would not get involved in the debate over whether the party should expel former Examination Yuan member Tsai Wen-pin (
Chung said that the party branch in Tainan City will handle the case.
"But it is obvious that Tsai diverges from the party's stance," Chung said.
Earlier in the day, the DPP launched four campaign teams for the December legislative elections.
The teams will be led by DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄), Premier Yu Shyi-kun, Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to help boost momentum for the campaign.
According to Chang, 108 campaign rallies will be held around the country, starting this Saturday and running through the middle of next month.
Each of the four campaign team leaders is responsible for hosting 27 rallies.
Chung said the DPP is quite optimistic about its election chances, based on its latest poll.
He said the pan-green camp has reached the "magic number" of 110 to 115 probable legislative seats, moving the DPP closer to its goal of dominating the Legislative Yuan.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan