Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Shih made the remarks at a press conference in Taipei, where he displayed photos he had taken with Chen Yu-hao during a visit to Thailand last year.
He said that "Chen [Yu-hao] and I are definitely good friends."
PHOTO: HSIEH YIN-CHUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Chen Yu-hao, former chairman of the Tuntex Group who fled to the US, is listed as one of the country's 10 most-wanted fugitives.
Shih has launched a campaign inviting a million people to join him in a sit-in to pressure Chen Shui-bian to step down.
DPP legislators have said that his campaign to oust the president was linked to the fugitive tycoon, who during the 2004 presidential election had accused Chen Shui-bian of accepting millions of dollars in illegal political donations.
Shih yesterday also said he was under surveillance.
"I am just a civilian. My conduct has nothing to do with government business. Why am I being followed and bugged?" he asked.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, in Ilan yesterday, said that the party would "absolutely not cover up" irregularities by the president if he had committed any.
Shih's campaign to oust Chen Shui-bian was "wrong," Yu said.
Yu said he believed the president was not involved in any wrongdoing in relation to corruption allegations involving his family members and close aides.
If the president had really made an error, the public could press him to step down through constitutional procedures, such as a recall or impeachment motions, Yu said.
Yu said the nation's laws stipulate that the president will be removed from office if he is impeached, if a presidential recall proposal is passed in a public referendum, or if he is convicted of sedition or treason.
However, so far the president had not been proven to have committed any crimes, Yu said, and he called on the public not to resort to measures that fall outside the constitutional system.
Yu said that while he respected the protesters' freedom to express their opinions, attempting to oust the president through demonstrations would only jeopardize political stability and disrupt the lives of local residents.
He said such tactics would create a vicious cycle that encouraged people to resort to these methods to topple those in power in future.
Separately, Vice President Annette Lu (
She urged the public to take a rational attitude toward dealing with the nation's challenges.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (
In related news, members of the Democratic Action League and the president's supporters got into a shouting match and scuffled with police who tried to separate them when both parties turned up at a temple in Chiayi County.
The Democratic Action League has obtained a permit to use Ketagelan Boulevard from Sept. 9 to Sept. 10 for its campaign urging the president to step down.
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) has been investigating nine shell companies working with Prince Holding Group, and the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office is seeking further prosecution of alleged criminals, a source said yesterday. The nine companies and three Taiwanese nationals were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Oct. 14 as Specially Designated Nationals as a result of a US federal court indictment. Prince Holding founder Chen Zhi (陳志) has been charged with fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding’s suspected forced-labor camps in Cambodia, the indictment says. Intelligence shared between Taiwan,
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
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