President Chen Shui-bian (
"The conflicts between Israel and Lebanon reflect the importance of peace," Chen said. "We have been doing our best to safeguard peace across the Taiwan Strait so security can be ensured."
Chen made the remarks when receiving US Representative Dan Burton, an Indiana Republican, and his wife, who is Lebanese.
Chen said that he hoped their presence would help the street sit-in end in a peaceful manner.
"I believe you and your wife can bring happiness and good fortune to the 23 million people of Taiwan and the government I represent," he said.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) yesterday responded to the anti-Chen campaign's decision to change its name.
"I acknowledge the name change of the campaign initiated by former DPP chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德) from `anti-Chen' to `anti-corruption,'" he said. "However, he should be targeting the KMT because it is the source of corruption."
No matter whether the KMT's assets were worth NT$600 billion (US$19 billion) or NT$50 billion, they were obtained illegally and should be returned to the people and state coffers, Wang said.
Wang said that the money, if it could be allocated to families suffering from financial difficulties, would make a big difference.
In response, KMT caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
Wang said that KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was "sitting on both sides of the fence" because he was supporting the anti-Chen campaign but also wanted to see Chen stay on as president so he would stand a better chance of winning the 2008 presidential election.
"Although Shih has seen Ma's true colors, I'd like to remind him not to become a pawn of Ma," he said. "He should rein in his horses and stop the campaign right away."
Describing Ma as an "opportunist," Wang said he suspected that Ma and fugitive tycoon Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) were behind Shih's campaign against Chen.
Wang also said Ma was too late in expressing disapproval of the application made by Shih's camp to hold the 24-hour sit-in from Sept. 11 to Sept. 15.
The city earlier had approved the campaign's application for a 24-hour sit-in from Aug. 23 to Sept. 7. Wang said that Ma should not have approved a 24-hour sit-in in the first place.
"Now he is just trying to shirk responsibility and shift the blame to others," Wang said.
Wang also demanded that Ho De-fen (
Police later discovered that it was a false alarm and said that a man suffering an apparent mental breakdown had left the bags there.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
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