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.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically