The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) last night said it would demand that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) clarify allegations leveled by prosecutors before it decides on referring him to the party's anti-corruption commission.
"The prosecutor did not say the president pocketed the state fund. The suspicious points in the indictment resulted from the president's need to protect details of the country's confidential diplomacy. We hope he will explain himself to the public," DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said at a press conference last night following a four-hour Central Executive Committee meeting.
The committee also decided to refer first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Yu also offered an apology to the public and said the party felt the "deepest regret" over the turmoil the matter had brought to the country.
Shortly after the DPP's press conference, the Presidential Office issued a statement saying that the president, after reading over the indictment report, will make a public statement within two days.
The DPP is facing the greatest crisis since the party's founding 20 years ago.
It could be expected that reform-minded Young Turks in the DPP will urge the party to do some soul-searching and push for "clean government" reforms, while other elected DPP public officials concerned about their political future may attempt to distance themselves from the president and his indicted aides.
The DPP's practice of holding its public officeholders to high standards by stripping them of party membership once indicted will also be tested. If the DPP applies a double standard for the president, the party may risk losing voter support and prematurely seal its fate in next year's legislative election and the 2008 presidential election.
The DPP's presidential hopefuls in the 2008 election -- including Premier Su Tseng-chang (
A more immediate headache for the DPP could be a voter revolt in the Dec. 9 mayoral elections in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, former president Lee Teng-hui (
Eric Chen had questioned Lee as a witness in the middle of September in connection with the investigation into President Chen's alleged misuse of the "state affairs fund."
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
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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