The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday lambasted President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) over his comment that dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) had once said that "the Republic of China [ROC] had already perished following the loss of mainland China."
At a press conference on Thursday, Chen said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had eliminated the ROC. The comment came in response to criticism from KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who had accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of colluding with China in attacking the ROC.
"Please don't forget that on March 13, 1950, former president Chiang Kai-shek said on Yangmingshan that the ROC had already perished following the loss of mainland China and they were the people of a conquered nation," Chen said on Thursday.
"The KMT cannot distort history and blame the DPP for something we did not do," he said.
KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) yesterday said that Chen was the one who was "twisting historical fact."
KMT Legislator John Chiang (
Saying that Chiang Kai-shek's actual words were, "Our ROC almost perished as of the end of last year [1949] after the loss of mainland China," John Chiang said his grandfather used the word "almost" to emphasize the need for KMT staffers to remember the defeat.
"The former president never said that the ROC perished," he said, adding that he was considering a defamation suit against Chen.
Showing the press a transcription of Chiang Kai-shek's 1950 speech, Shao Ming-huang (邵銘煌), director of the KMT's party archives library, said Chen had garbled Chiang Kai-shek's message.
Shao dismissed Chen's interpretation of the speech as "immoral," and said the president was indulging in "political discourse" instead of sticking to "historical facts."
Shao said that Chiang Kai-shek had delivered the speech after he resumed the "presidency of the ROC" on March 1, 1950, so it was "illogical" for Chen to allege that Chiang Kai-shek had admitted the demise of the ROC.
The record of the speech provided by the library stated: "Our ROC almost perished as of the end of last year [1949] after the loss of mainland China. We have all become conquered people, but we are unaware of this. Isn't this sad ... we should regard `revival of the ROC' as our common goal.'"
China yesterday issued a sweeping denunciation of Chen, accusing him of stirring animosity between the two sides of the Strait.
The statement from an unidentified spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office came after Chen accused Beijing of practicing totalitarianism and threatening world peace in a National Day speech in Taipei on Wednesday.
Chen "ignored the Taiwanese compatriots' wish for peace, stability and development," said the Chinese statement, carried on the Web site of the official China News Service.
"At the same time, he flew the flag of democracy and human rights, endeavoring to cover the wounds of his many scandals, deliberately provoked antagonism between the two sides in the name of his own selfish interests and that of his party," it said.
Additional reporting by AP
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS