President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said last night that former defense minister Chiang Chung-ling (蔣仲苓) and former director of the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen (退輔會) Hsu Li-lung (許歷農) were the ones behind his recent comments about a "soft coup d'etat."
Chen made the revelation during a campaign rally in Hsinchu County, one week after he first revealed that the opposition pan-blue camp had attempted to launch a "soft coup d'etat" in the wake of the March presidential election.
Cabinet officials such as Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Council for Economic Planning and Development Vice Chairman Chang Ching-sen (張景森) also made speeches to back up the DPP's administration during the rally.
Lin yesterday targeted Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for Ma's remarks attacking Chen over traffic regulations.
Lin said Ma only wanted to hide his incompetence in handling municipal affairs and highlight himself as the pan-blue camp's would-be leader.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), who also participated in the Hsinchu City rally, stressed the importance of legislative reform and strongly backed legislative caucus leader Kerr Chien-ming (柯建銘), who is campaigning in Hsinchu City.
Earlier in the morning, the DPP was busy responding to the news that Taitung County Commissioner Hsu Ching-yuan (徐慶元), who yesterday announced that he would withdraw from the People First Party and promised that he would appear onstage with Chen at a rally for DPP candidate Hsu Jui-kui (許瑞貴) in Taitung County.
DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday said that he called Hsu Chin-yuan and expressed his appreciation to him for supporting the DPP.
Chang said that he and Hsu Ching-yuan had a good conversation, adding that he will go to Taitung County to discuss campaign details with him.
"The DPP has the same view as Commissioner Hsu: that there should be balanced development in eastern Taiwan as well as western Taiwan," Chang said.
"As long as the policies and budget that the local government has are beneficial to local people, the DPP government is willing to give its support, regardless of whether the local chiefs are of the pan-green or pan-blue camp," Chang said.
"We respect Commissioner Hsu's political decision to become a public figure without party affiliation," Chang said.
"But I believe the commissioner's example shows that there is no problem for the central and local governments to cooperate with each other closely, as long as local development is the first concern."
"We never talked about Hsu's future, and it is impossible that we offered any incentives, as the pan-blue camp accused," Chang said, asking the pan-blues to stop attacking Hsu.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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