President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen was responding to several news reports yesterday which said Vice President Annette Lu (
Lu said in the interview that when first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) was indicted on corruption charges in the "state affairs" fund case last November, "someone" had forced Chen to declare that he would resign if Wu were found guilty.
PHOTO: CNA
Lu said in the interview that the mystery figure had set two conditions and threatened to resign.
"The rumors have been very unfair to Premier Su," Chen said when approached by the media for comments yesterday. "He has discussed with me the possibility of leaving his post on four occasions."
Chen added that on each occasion he had sought to reassure Su.
"Last November we met again and he told me that he was prepared to leave for the sake of political stability. I told him that if he really wanted to maintain political stability he should not raise the subject again," Chen said.
When approached by the media after the DPP's Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday, Su said he was grateful for the president's support.
Su said he had worked hard to live up to the public's expectations since becoming premier.
"At times when I heard the rumors attempting to discredit me, I felt I had been wronged. But I have endured. I did so not only to show my character but also to foster party unity. I hope the rumors will stop," he said.
Speaking earlier yesterday, Su said it would be impossible for him to force the president from office because "the premier would be the first to go if the president resigned."
This would not be to his advantage, he said.
When approached by the media, Lu denied implicating Su.
Former premier Frank Hsieh (
Asked to comment, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said: "Lu's remarks were close to the truth," but refused to say whether Lu had implicated Su.
Additional reporting by Angelica Oung and CNA
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard