Members of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) former New Tide faction, yesterday blasted party chairman Yu Shyi-kun for saying that 15 DPP lawmakers had threatened not to support President Chen Shui-bian when the first lady was indicted on Nov. 3.
Speaking in a TV interview on Thursday night, Yu said that a lawmaker phoned party spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) on Nov. 3, demanding that Yu abandon plans to call a press conference in support of the president without conferring with party members first.
The lawmaker said 15 lawmakers would quit the DPP and support the opposition-initiated third recall against the president should the party do anything to the contrary.
When asked if the lawmakers belonged to the New Tide, Yu skirted the question, simply saying that "[the party's] factions have been dissolved [in accordance with a party resolution]."
Perceived as the lawmakers whom Yu referred to, members of the former New Tide yesterday expressed their disaffection with Yu.
Former legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) said he was disappointed that Yu made such an accusation without providing evidence.
"As far as I know, nothing like that happened. If it did, Yu should give us the names and details. Otherwise, what he [Yu] said was just provoking confrontation," Lee said.
Tsai refused to comment on the matter, while DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
Lee and Lin Cho-shui (
Yu later criticized Lin and Lee for their unexpected resignations in an internal meeting of the party and said that the move had harmed Kaohsiung mayoral Chen Chu's (
The former New Tide members have been in disagreement with Yu over issues related to the party's stance on handling the presidential scandal and cross-strait relations.
Legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌), the head of the New Tide, was also attacked by Yu for his argument that the party should urge the government to relax restrictions capping investment in China at a maximum of 40 percent of a company's net worth.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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