Threats on Ma's life aired by southern radio stations

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday denounced the broadcasting of a threat to assassinate party chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) by unlicensed radio stations in southern Taiwan, demanding the premier and police conduct an investigation.

The threat to take Ma's life was broadcast by pro-independence radio stations in southern Taiwan, coinciding with the chairman's planned attendance at an anti-President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) rally in Kaohsiung on Saturday.

The event was canceled due to bad weather.

KMT legislative caucus members demanded that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) order the National Police Agency (NPA) to conduct an investigation into the case and thereafter offer a clear description of its efforts to apprehend those guilty of fomenting the call to murder Ma.

"Premier Su did not ban or investigate such sensational remarks spread by unlicensed radio stations. What exactly is he doing to improve Taiwan's social order?" KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-Bao (賴士葆) said during a press conference at the Legislative Yuan.

Lai said Su's failure to crack down on unlicensed radio stations and their provocative broadcasts proved that he had not lived up to his promise to improve social order in the nation within six months.

KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) also criticized Su and blasted the Ministry of Justice, the NPA and the Investigation Bureau for failing to initiate a probe into the case.

"If the heads of government agencies fail to give an explanation for their actions, then this is not a Cabinet that the public can count on," he said.

KMT lawmaker Fei Hung-tai (費鴻泰) said he suspected that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government was using the unlawful radio stations to air rhetoric about assassinating Ma to shore-up its power base.

KMT Spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) joined in the condemnation of the assassination threat, but denied speculation by certain local TV stations, including TVBS and ETTV, that the party canceled Saturday's event because of it.

"The event was canceled due to the weather conditions. The airport was temporarily shut down. There are no other reasons [for the event's cancelation]," she said at KMT headquarters.

Cheng said the party would still hold a signature drive in Kaohsiung, but had not yet set a date for the event.

In response to questions from KMT legislators, NPA Director-General Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) said that the agency would not tolerate violence and would provide quick assistance to local police authorities when they required additional personnel to protect political party leaders.

According to the Taipei Police Department, seven or eight security police officers are assigned to protect Ma.

The NPA lacks the authority to raid illegal radio stations, but is poised to punish those who resort to violence at any time, high-level NPA officials said.

Meanwhile, KMT legislative caucus whip Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛) accused the pan-green camp of trying to paralyze special telephone lines set up by the pan-blue camp to collect public endorsements for a recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

She asked the National Communications Commission and the Directorate General of Telecommunications to probe the situation at once.

Spokeswoman Liu Yu-li (劉幼俐) said the commission had demanded a tape of the threats broadcast by the radio stations and would hold a meeting today to discuss the matter.

She also promised that the commission would enforce a ban on illegal radio stations.