Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and independent Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) yesterday continued bickering over whether Hsieh had mentioned "the empress" -- referring to first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) -- during a phone conversation with Chiu.
"I swear. If Hsieh never said so, as he claimed, I will immediately resign. Also, if I'm lying, I will be struck and killed by a car once I step out of this door. However, if he is lying, I think the premier should step down," Chiu said.
Chiu was not hit by a car yesterday.
Chiu added he was willing to take a polygraph to prove that he had not been lying.
On Tuesday, Chiu said Hsieh had confirmed that he was following up with hints about the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal, but had also reminded the lawmaker "not to touch the empress" because he would only come to a dead end if he did.
Chiu said the "empress" was Wu, hinting that she might be involved in the scandal.
Chiu said it was important whether Hsieh depicted Wu as an "empress." He said that Hsieh used to call Wu the "empress" when he was the Kaohsiung mayor, so it was a lie for Hsieh to deny that he never used such a term to depict Wu.
In response to Chiu's remarks, Hsieh yesterday said that he is not the one who had been lying, but that Chiu was.
"First of all, the first lady has nothing to do with [the KRTC scandal]," Hsieh said. "Also, a polygraph can only be conducted by law enforcement officers once they have launched an investigation. It is not something that Chiu can do just because he wants to."
Chiu said he will file a slander suit against the premier to "respond" to the premier's comments.
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
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
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