Anyone has the right to murder the president if the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) loses its High Court Lawsuit today, KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰) told a meeting to the KMT Central Standing Committee yesterday.
The shocking statement came on the heels of a report to the committee delivered by a by a pan-blue lawyer.
The High Court judges are expected to deliver their verdict on whether the result of the March 20 presidential election should be annulled today.
In his report the lawyer claimed that, whatever the finding of judges, fraud certainly occurred.
After listening to the report, Lien said: "It is no big deal that [President] Chen [Shui-bian] (
Lien then said: "No one is so great that people cannot touch him. As long as we see anyone who makes frauds or unlawful actions, every one could put this guy to death."
Lien said that he hoped that the judges "do not forget their responsibility and make a right decision on it [the lawsuit]."
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday demanded Lien apologize for his remark, calling it his gravest mis-statement since March 20.
DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
"I'm so sorry to hear Lien make so irrational a statement. Fortunately Lien is simply the KMT Chairman and was not elected as Taiwan's president," Chang said. "On the eve of the verdict, Lien's words only prove that he will never admit the result of the presidential election and simply is unable to get over his defeat."
Chang also pointed out that the DPP has tolerated a succession of similar accusations that the pan-blue camp has made since the election.
Even People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
"Yet today Lien's speech just goes too far beyond the limit society could tolerate," Chang said. "They aim to trample upon Taiwan's legal system and incite confrontation in the country so that they can overthrow a head of state elected by a democratic procedure."
Meanwhile, Chang urged both pan-green and pan-blue supporters not to gather in front of the High Court building and to be sure to accept the verdict to be announced this afternoon.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
A Taiwanese academic yesterday said that Chinese Ambassador to Denmark Wang Xuefeng (王雪峰) disrespected Denmark and Japan when he earlier this year allegedly asked Japan’s embassy to make Taiwan’s representatives leave an event in Copenhagen. The Danish-language Berlingske on Sunday reported the incident in an article with the headline “The emperor’s birthday ended in drama in Copenhagen: More conflict may be on the way between Denmark and China.” It said that on Feb. 26, the Japanese embassy in Denmark held an event for Japanese Emperor Naruhito’s birthday, with about 200 guests in attendance, including representatives from Taiwan. After addressing the Japanese hosts, Wang