President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) apologized to women yesterday for comparing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to a "bickering woman" following its about-face in the voting format for the legislative election and two referendums.
Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (
During an interview with a radio station in Taichung on Sunday night, Chen compared the furor caused by the KMT's insistence on the two-step voting system over the past month to "a woman who makes a row for no obvious reason."
Lee said it is a well-known fact that Chen has attached great importance to women's rights during his presidency. He not only defends women's rights to participate in politics, but also established an advisory taskforce under the Presidential Office to promote gender mainstreaming and protect women's rights, he said. Chen also appointed eight female Cabinet officials in 2000, he said.
While the Central Election Commisssion adopted a one-step voting procedure, the KMT had insisted that its administrations would use a two-step voting system, under which voters first cast their legislative election ballots before they are given their referendum ballots.
The KMT later reversed its decision following a meeting between the KMT and pan-blue local government heads. The KMT's Central Standing Committee yesterday resolved to boycott the two referendums to be held concurrently with next week's legislative elections.
KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (
At a press conference, Kuo said the president had failed to prevent his fellow party members from making comments offensive to the ears and set a poor example himself.
The president owes the public an apology, she said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus whip Wang Tuoh (
"I must admit that men of my generation would say things like that sometimes. But I assure you that it was merely a metaphor," Wang said.
Wang made the remarks during a press conference at the DPP legislative caucus office yesterday morning.
He emphasized that the president was only complaining about the KMT's illogical behavior and the fact that it was forever changing its policy and did not intend to insult woman with its choice of wording.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang and Jimmy Chuang
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS