People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
When approached by reporters on his way to a new book launch, Soong said that at the time the US government sent then-American Institute in Taiwan director Douglas Paal to make the promise in a bid to persuade them to end the pan-blue camp's violent demonstrations on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.
Soong said that the US government later broke its promise after pan-blue supporters withdrew from the boulevard.
He did not present any evidence to substantiate his claim.
The assassination attempt took place during a campaign motorcade in Tainan on March 19, 2004.
Chen and Lu were both shot during the event. Bullets grazed Chen's stomach and hit Lu's knee, but the injuries were not life-threatening.
Lien and Soong, who ran on the same ticket in the election, lost the presidential election one day later by just 29,518 votes.
Lien and Soong called Chen and Lu's victory unfair and demanded a recount while many pan-blue supporters refused to recognize the result of the election and staged a demonstration on the boulevard.
Soong said yesterday that recent comments by forensics expert Henry Lee (李昌鈺) regarding the shooting represented a warning signal from the US to Chen that the US could expose the "truth" about the shooting.
Soong was referring to a report by the Chinese-language China Times on Thursday, which quoted Lee as saying that Lu was the prime target of the shooting.
However, later on Thursday, Judy Cheng (
Lee said he could not infer that Lu was the main target of the shooter from traces left at the scene.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
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