Former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (
"After Beijing passed its `Anti-Secession' Law, Taiwan has become divided," Koo said. "I think President Chen's recent remarks signaled a crisis in his leadership and in the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP], which is slanting toward China."
Koo made the remarks yesterday at a news conference held by the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and other pro-independence groups to urge voters to support the TSU in the National Assembly Elections on Saturday.
Koo said that Taiwan has been rocked by opposition leaders' trips to China, and it is no help to Taiwan if the two pan-green camp leaders continue to confront each other.
Koo said that the president had complained to him privately about Lee's recent comments on cross-strait relations for about 90 minutes while the two were on a trip to the Marshall Islands earlier this month.
"I thought it was only President Chen's [personal] grievance [against Lee]. However, I was so surprised that Chen would make public these complaints," Koo said. "I think it was so inappropriate for a national leader to make such remarks in public."
"After hearing President Chen's criticisms of Lee in the first interview on TV, I planned to act as a mediator between Lee and Chen; however, when I heard Chen's words in the second interview, I felt I had no position to so do," Koo said.
"President Chen lost his dignity as a national leader for criticizing former president Lee with strong rhetoric," Koo said. "I think he is incorrigible."
Koo also said that he does not support the constitutional reforms the National Assembly is to consider.
The amendments are incomplete, and will only cause confusion in the nation's political system if they are passed, he said.
"The TSU is the only party that is concerned about Taiwan's destiny. Although there is still a long way to go before the TSU can replace the DPP, I urge the people of Taiwan to nourish the TSU through these elections," Koo said.
In related news, Lee will hold a news conference this evening in Taipei to respond to the outcome of People First Party Chairman James Soong's (
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
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS