One of the key organizers of the campaign to oust the president for alleged graft resigned yesterday in disgrace after it emerged that her political party kicked her out because she was convicted on bribery charges 12 years ago.
Wang Li-ping (
Wang said that she would continue to be associated with the anti-corruption campaign as a volunteer.
Wang was convicted of bribery during the Yunlin County Council speaker election in 1994. She received a seven-month jail sentence, and a two-year suspended sentence.
She also came under fire yesterday for getting caught leaving the "around-the-clock sit-in" protest to go to a sauna.
Wang confirmed that she did go to a sauna, saying that she was tired at the time and needed a place to rest.
The DPP recently questioned Wang's credibility in taking part in the anti-corruption campaign, and decided to revoke her membership Friday.
The anti-President Chen Shui-bian (
Meanwhile, other Shih campaign backers were also coming under fire.
DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) questioned the motives of anti-Chen "consultant" Hsu Po-yun (許博允), who traveled to China via Macau three days ago.
Wang Shih-cheng accused Hsu of reporting to Chinese authorities on the progress of the anti-Chen campaign on behalf of Shih, then receiving further instructions.
The anti-Chen campaign's news coordinator, Chang Fu-chung (張富忠), said Wang Shih-cheng's charges were pure fantasy, and that the headquarters was under no obligation to clarify details of Hsu's trip.
Hsu is reportedly in Xinjiang attending an international "Asian culture coalition" conference.
When contacted by reporters, Hsu condemned Wang Shih-cheng's charges. He said he would return to Taiwan this Thursday or Friday to clarify the situation, and that he had not ruled out suing Wang Shih-cheng.
Meanwhile, the anti-Chen campaign announced that it will move its protest site to Jinan Road on the east side of the Legislative Yuan after its permit to occupy Ketagalan Boulevard expires at midnight on Wednesday.
The anti-Chen camp also outlined the route it planned to take for a "siege" on Sept. 30, which it hopes will attract more protesters than the Sept. 15 "siege."
Luo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), a spokeswoman for the camp, said the rally will begin at Jinan Road at 3pm, and march along Zhongshan S Road, Nanjing E Road, Jianguo S Road and Renai Road.
The rally is scheduled to return to Jinan Road at midnight.
In addition to demanding the resignation of the president, the parade is also calling for ethnic reconciliation following violence between pro-Chen and anti-Chen protesters in several demonstrations around the nation.
"The goal of the campaign is to fight against corruption, but the focus of the protest has been shifted to ethnic confrontation. Therefore we want this parade to bring reconciliation to all ethnic groups," she said yesterday.
The rally, entitled the "seven-color peace parade," will also aim to move away from the focus on the color red -- with which the camp has become closely associated in recent weeks -- and embrace the colors of the rainbow.
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
CPBL players, cheerleaders and officials pose at a news conference in Taipei yesterday announcing the upcoming All-Star Game. This year’s CPBL All-Star Weekend is to be held at the Taipei Dome on July 19 and 20.
The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision that ruled in favor of former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) regarding the legitimacy of her doctoral degree. The issue surrounding Tsai’s academic credentials was raised by former political talk show host Dennis Peng (彭文正) in a Facebook post in June 2019, when Tsai was seeking re-election. Peng has repeatedly accused Tsai of never completing her doctoral dissertation to get a doctoral degree in law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1984. He subsequently filed a declaratory action charging that
The Hualien Branch of the High Court today sentenced the main suspect in the 2021 fatal derailment of the Taroko Express to 12 years and six months in jail in the second trial of the suspect for his role in Taiwan’s deadliest train crash. Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and which the the Taiwan Railways Administration's (TRA) train crashed into in an accident that killed 49 people and injured 200, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months in the first trial by the Hualien District Court in 2022. Hoa Van Hao, a