President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday called on the Taiwanese media to act more discreetly when covering elections, citing the American media's coverage of the US presidential election as an example.
Chen made the remarks while receiving members of the Ketagalan Academy (
The president said he has been scrutinizing the vote-counting process and results in the US election.
"While I comprehend the intensity of the election, [this intensity] is sometimes produced by the media, as each media outlet has its own preferences and expectations," Chen said.
He said that, in the US as well as in Taiwan, electoral confusion and turmoil were sometimes the result of the media's coverage.
For example, Chen said, some US media outlets covering the 2000 US presidential election had jumped the gun by reporting that presidential candidate Al Gore had won, only to later revise their reports to announce that George W. Bush had been elected.
He said a similar scenario was played out in Taiwan during the March presidential election, when some media outlets exaggerated their exit poll figures.
"It leads one to wonder whether there would be less electoral disputes were it not for the factor of the media in the process," Chen said.
Chen said that "this time around, the US media outlets were mindful of the lesson learned [from the previous US election] and therefore took precautions against acting in haste."
"This is a sign of improvement from which Taiwanese media should learn," he said.
Chen also responded to remarks Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien accused Chen of committing fraud during the March 20 election and said that a person who committed such an act "deserved be killed by everyone."
"What kind of democratic manner is that, to accuse the president of imposture before the court has even delivered its verdict?" Chen said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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