Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers from different factions scolded each other yesterday for soliciting favors from President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in a sleazy manner.
Three New Tide faction members, convener Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) and two faction's old guards Lin Cho-shui (林濁水) and Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌), and Justice Alliance member Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) were involved in a round of nasty verbal exchanges.
Lin Chung-mo began the quarrel when he highlighted Tuan's recent attack on the Control Yuan nominees and Lin Cho-shui's (
Lin Cho-shui also stated that "US President George W. Bush hates A-bian," Lin Chung-mo said.
Then, Lin Chung-mo criticized the New Tide faction for "impeding President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) at crucial moments." Lin asserted that Hong said after the Financial Holding Company Act (金控法) was passed that it was an act to save the president's supporters from future problems.
"On the surface the New Tide is pretending to be morally superior by criticizing the president, but under the table they are trying to solicit government posts," Lin Chung-mo said.
"Has the New Tide not solicited enough posts? Aren't National Security Council Secretary-General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) and Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (陳菊) from the New Tide?" Lin Chung-mo asked, urging that the president should not be prevented from any action out of concerns for possible criticism from the New Tide.
"If the A-bian administration really sucks, as the New Tide said, all the New Tide officials should resign," Lin Chung-mo said.
Lin Cho-shui, meanwhile, stressed again that it was clear that Bush hated Chen from "lots of evidence," and urged the government to draft plans immediately to respond to the "situation."
"If Taiwan becomes a part of China, then what posts are left to be solicited?" Lin Cho-shui responded.
Tuan, who lost his legislative re-election bid, also gave Lin Cho-shui his support.
"A clown like Lin Chung-mo should not use the occasion of the party chairman election to gain publicity," Tuan said.
Earlier, Lin stated his intention to run for the DPP chairmanship.
"Lin Chung-mo should not try to show his loyalty to the president by attacking the New Tide," Tuan said.
"It is a strange thing that a man should need to state his loyalty to the president incessantly," Tuan said.
Hong, meanwhile, also denied the accusation and said that DPP members should be concerned about the country's future rather than fighting among themselves.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods