A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidate yesterday released a TV campaign advertisement that denounces four candidates from opposition parties as rumormongers and asks voters not to support them in December.
Cheng Yun-peng's (鄭運鵬) 20-second campaign ad accuses People First Party (PFP) caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), disgraced PFP Legislator Diane Lee (李慶安), PFP Legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) of spreading rumors and libeling DPP officials over the past three years.
In response, Tsai threatened to sue Cheng and burn the DPP party flag.
The ad depicts controversies instigated by the four lawmakers, including Liu's recent allegations that former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso received a US$1 million "settlement" from President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), based on an unsubstantiated source; Tsai's alleged smearing of Chen's ancestors as being the "worst and lowest" of Hakka people during the presidential election campaign; Lee's use of phony evidence to accuse the chief of the Department of Health of sexual harassment and Feng's allegations that Chen was involved in major corruption relating to a construction project this July, later proven to be false.
Using the words, "No matter how barbarous the opposition parties are, they cannot slander other people and disturb the society so arbitrarily," the ad mimics the style of a successful campaign ad that Cheng released during the legislative campaign in 2001.
During the 2001 elections, Cheng, who was director of the DPP's Information and Culture Department, and Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), who was DPP secretary-general at that time, launched an ad that named opposition party lawmakers who had made cuts to budgets for child welfare and local development. The ad was said to have been a big factor behind the losses of a number of PFP and KMT candidates.
"We want to remind our voters exactly what these opposition legislators have done over the past three years and ask them to think about whether these people are adequate to serve as lawmakers again," Cheng said.
Cheng was sued by the KMT and the PFP for the 2001 campaign ad.
Cheng said that he plans to keep the spots running through the legislative elections and next month will launch another ad targeting opposition legislators who did "little work" during their terms.
Late in the day, Tsai responded to the ad's launch, saying he would file a lawsuit against Cheng. Tsai also called on supporters to gather in front of DPP headquarters and burn the party's flag in protest if Cheng continues to broadcast the ads.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese