President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will file a lawsuit against talk-show host Sisy Chen (陳文茜) over her claim that the president plans to take advantage of his upcoming visit to Palau to ship his valuables overseas, according to a Presidential Office statement yesterday.
During her show on Thursday, Sisy Chen claimed that the president's plane will take off from Taipei's Songshan military air base for his South Pacific visit in order to evade customs inspections and facilitate a plan to ship his valuables abroad.
Presidential Office Deputy Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (
"Such malicious rumors are totally inappropriate ... Sisy Chen made the remarks to slander the president and has severely damaged the president's reputation," said the Presidential Office statement.
In response, Sisy Chen yesterday held a press conference in the legislature, saying that she would bring a counter charge if the president decides to file a lawsuit against her.
"The president hasn't used Air Force One before. The last time he visited Palau, he used China Airlines. It's surely an issue of concern as to why he has chosen Air Force One this time," she said.
She said that she had listed four possible reasons why the president would choose Air Force One, of which transporting his valuables was only one.
"I said that the president may be planning to make surprise transit visits on the excuse of refueling Air Force One, avoiding any possible demonstrations, transporting his valuables and the need of being accompanied by people involved in the alleged embezzlement of state funds," she said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
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Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
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