Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (
The controversy nearly derailed Chen Shui-bian's campaign to be re-elected president against competition from then Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰).
Days before the 2004 poll, Chen Yu-hao accused Chen Shui-bian of accepting political donations six times and said that, accompanied by Shen, he had met first lady Wu Shu-jen (
His claim raised questions about Chen Shui-bian's integrity and caused Chen's support rating in polls to fall.
At that time, Shen would not answer directly when asked about Chen Yu-hao's claims and the alleged meeting with Wu.
Shen yesterday confirmed he had taken Chen Yu-hao to visit Wu and added that the president's son-in-law's recent alleged involvement in insider trading simply "mimicked" the behavior of his mother-in-law Wu, who often made phone calls to meddle in governmental issues.
Shen yesterday also ridiculed Chen Shui-bian, saying he had become a "lame duck" president.
But Chao's case had not yet burned the president and the first lady, he said.
"If the scandal is found to be related to the president and his wife, then the president would become a roast duck," he added.
Shen said the most urgent thing for Chen Shui-bian now was to sit down and talk with Wu and Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Ma Yung-cheng (
"If the president can correct his mistakes, I believe he will still be able to leave office with a good reputation," Shen said, adding that he regretted he had not made things clear in 2004.
If he had done so, he said, the case involving Chao might not have occurred.
"I was worried that if I told the whole story about the political donation, the DPP would place all the responsibility for the president's failure to be re-elected on me," Shen said.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
"If the president had dealt with those controversies well, the Chao case would not have happened," Lin said.
But DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (
In response to Shen's claim, Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said yesterday the office had made a thorough explanation in response to Chen Yu-hao's accusations in 2004 and would not comment on the matter now.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS