Jailed former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday lashed out at Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) over his allegations that former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) were “accomplices” in Chen’s “corrupt administration.”
Chen said in the pro--democracy online magazine Neo Formosa Weekly that while President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) enjoyed talking about fighting corruption, the party that he heads, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was the most corrupt political establishment in history.
Corruption was the reason dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) lost the Chinese Civil War and fled to Taiwan, Chen said. Corruption was also attributed to the KMT’s defeat by the DPP in the 2000 presidential election, he said.
Questioning Ma’s connection with Taipei’s problem-plagued Wenshan-Neihu MRT line, Chen said Ma was an accomplice to Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) administration. Had the same thing happened to him when he was Taipei mayor, Chen said he would have been investigated — but Ma has remained above the law.
Ma is also a willing participant in a campaign to “annihilate” the Republic of China (ROC), Chen said. While the DPP has no great love for the national flag of the ROC, his administration insisted that the flag be flown if China wanted Taiwan to participate in the Olympic torch relay prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he said.
However, under Ma’s presidency, ROC flags were nowhere to be seen when Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) visited Taiwan in November 2008 and students recently were told not to wave the national flag when cheering for local basketball teams, Chen said.
“The administration’s talk about protecting the ROC is nothing but an election gimmick aimed at swindling voters,” he said.
It would also be appropriate to say that Ma was also an accomplice to dictators such as Chiang, his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Chen said.
Ma’s reluctance to address the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre and to approve the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama were evidence of this, Chen said. Ma’s administration has also blacklisted World Uyghur Congress leader Rebiya Kadeer and failed to call for the release of Chinese rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo (劉曉波) until other world leaders made such calls, Chen said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
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