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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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