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.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
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
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan