Independent Legislator Li Ao (
With the meeting between President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Soong looming, Li said yesterday that Soong's change of heart on the arms procurement project is bound to lead to divisions between Soong and his friends, including himself.
"When the Democratic Action Alliance (DAA,
"If he changes his mind simply because he wants to meet with Chen or for whatever political reason, I'll get very angry," Li said.
As an opposition party, Li said that the PFP's mission is to criticize and oppose the government.
"It doesn't make sense to reconcile with the government, because it's the opposition parties' job to question and oppose the government," he said.
"It's not the opposition parties's job to wipe the govern-ment's ass when it screws up," Li said.
Commenting on Li's remarks, DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (
He also called on Soong to jointly push for partisan reconciliation with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and not to be threatened by "extremists' preposterous remarks."
"Those who distribute groundless accusations are worse than politicians who place their personal gain above the public interest," he said.
In addition to thanking Li for his advice, PFP legislative whip Liu Wen-hsiung (
"I'd like to guarantee, on my own life, that we are opposed to the NT$610.8 billion arms budget and will continue to oppose it in the future, even after the Chen-Soong meeting," he said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
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