Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that he was working on his seventh book in jail and that he expected the One Side, One Country Alliance (一邊一國連線) he established to make great strides in municipal elections in 2014.
Chen, who has been in prison since he was convicted of corruption in December 2008, said he “would definitely go out of prison alive and keep working toward his goal of one country on each side” in a press release issued by his office yesterday.
The former president, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year sentence, has been a productive writer, with three published books — Taiwan’s Crucifix (台灣的十字架), The 1.86 Ping Presidential Office (1.86坪的總統府) and Voices that Can’t Be Locked Up (關不住的聲音) — and a column for the Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Press Photographers’ Association
His fourth book, 25 Must-read Lessons for a President (“總統”必讀的二十五堂課), will soon be published and the fifth is being edited, Chen said, adding that the 60 magazine columns he has written would make up his sixth book.
Chen said he was proud of his alliance’s performance in local council elections in 2010, with 34 of 41 nominees being elected, giving the alliance 40 incumbent councilors in various cities across the nation.
His goal for the 2014 elections is to double that number and for the alliance to reach 1 million supporters, Chen wrote.
Also yesterday, Chen’s son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), wrote in an opinion piece titled “The Distance from Darkness to Dawn,” for the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) to appeal for his father’s release, citing the examples of US presidents.
US President Barack Obama declined to investigate his predecessor, former US president George W. Bush, for starting the Iraq War, saying that the country should instead move forward, the younger Chen wrote.
Former US president Gerald Ford also granted a presidential pardon to his predecessor, former US president Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign over the Watergate scandal, he said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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