President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday denied meeting privately with bookie Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) in Chiayi in September, slamming Next Magazine for carrying the story and accusing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of spreading the allegations without evidence.
In an interview with ETTV, Ma defended his integrity and said he did not meet with Chen on Sept. 10 during a campaign visit to Chiayi.
“The magazine made a false accusation and the DPP jumped on the bandwagon to spread the rumors. This is a vicious culture,” he said.
Allegations of a meeting between Ma and Chen were made on Wednesday when an article in Next Magazine said that the president had held a private meeting with Chen in which he asked for a donation of NT$300 million (US$9.9 million).
The Presidential Office, Ma’s re-election campaign office and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have all denied the allegations. On Thursday, the KMT threatened to take legal action against the magazine.
Amid the allegations and a neck-and-neck race with DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Ma yesterday said he remained confident about his re-election bid even with People First Party Chairman James Soong’s (宋楚瑜) participation in the presidential election.
“I still believe that I will be re-elected even if Chairman Soong refuses to withdraw from the race … The differences between Chairperson Tsai and myself are pretty obvious, and I believe the people will choose me in the election,” he said.
The possibility of signing a peace agreement with China, Ma added, is a point of consideration because the issue will inevitably arise in the next decade, and as president, he should not avoid addressing the topic and must present a long-term plan to maintain peace and prosperity.
“I care about Taiwan’s peace and the lives of the people, their economic situation. I do not just care about my turnout in the election,” he added.
EXCUSES: Beijing is using government and research vessels as a pretext to harass the nation and enter its EEZ, and engage in ‘hegemonic expansion,’ the coast guard said The Coast Guard Administration yesterday said it drove away Chinese oceanographic research vessel Xiang Yang Hong 22 (向陽紅33) from restricted waters after warning it that it was in Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Chinese vessel entered restricted waters off the coast of Yilan County’s Suao (蘇澳) at 11:35pm on Thursday, the coast guard said, adding that it dispatched the Lanyu patrol vessel and the boat PP-10077 to shadow the Chinese ship and issue radio warnings ordering it to leave. China has no sovereignty over waters off Taiwan’s east coast, Lanyu’s crew told Xiang Yang Hong 22 over the radio, and demanded
BAIT AND SWITCH: Allowing KMT-run counties to sell to China while the threat of abrupt cancelations hangs overhead is another form of coercion, officials said Beijing is using agricultural purchase offers announced during the Straits Forum to deepen Taiwan’s dependence on the Chinese market, a Taiwanese official said yesterday as they criticized the Taitung County commissioner’s participation in the initiative. During the Straits Forum held in Xiamen on Saturday, Chinese officials announced a sales and purchase agreement for agricultural products from some counties led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). Taitung County Commissioner Yao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴), who was barred from attending the event in person by the Mainland Affairs Council, participated via video. Under the agreement, China would purchase atemoyas, pomeloes, tea and grouper harvested in Taitung,
Tropical Storm Mekkhala is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon tomorrow and could come close enough to Taiwan later in the week to prompt a sea warning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2 pm, the storm was located 1,870 kilometers southeast of Taiwan's southern tip and moving west- northwest at 23 km per hour. CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said Mekkhala is expected to continue moving west-northwest through Tuesday under the influence of the Pacific high- pressure system before gradually turning north toward waters east of Taiwan or south of the Ryukyu Islands. The timing and angle of the
Four Taiwanese universities have been ranked among the world's top 200 institutions in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for next year, the highest Taiwan has ever placed in the category, with National Taiwan University (NTU) achieving its best performance at 54th globally and 17th in Asia. The four Taiwanese institutions in the global top 200 are NTU (54th), National Tsing Hua University (142nd), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (177th) and National Cheng Kung University (191st), the rankings showed. All four universities achieved their highest-ever global rankings this year, QS data showed. National Cheng Kung University entered the top 200 for
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