2004 was a roller-coaster year for Taiwanese politics, with at least two bullets being fired amid firecrackers in Tainan heralding the beginning of one of the most polarizing periods in Taiwan's history.
Taiwan failed to see a change of administrations during the presidential election on March 20. Defying wide-spread expectations of defeat, incumbent presidential and vice presidential candidates Chen Shui-bian (
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIEMS
Extenuating circumstances surrounding the election, however, set the stage for the political, judicial and social turmoil that characterized 2004. On March 19 at 2pm, Chen and Lu were shot but only lightly wounded, leading to the activation of a national security mechanism which the pan-blue camp later said prevented pan-blue-leaning servicemen from casting their votes.
Bitter about the loss, over 300,000 pan-blue supporters staged a week-long protest outside the presidential office after results were released by the Central Election Commission at 9:20pm on March 20. Violence over election results later broke out when a mob led by PFP legislators smashed their way into the commission's headquarters on March 28.
After the protests subsided, the pan-blue camp insisted on holding a NT$60 million recount effort and filed two lawsuits seeking to annul the election and its results in April. Implying that the pan-green camp had staged the election-eve shooting, the pan-blue controlled-legislature pushed through a bill creating the March 19 Shooting Investigation Special Committee (
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
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