Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), spiritual head of the Taiwan Action Party Alliance (TAPA), announced yesterday that he is withdrawing from politics and bid farewell to his supporters.
Chen, popularly known as “A-bian,” served as Taiwan’s president from 2000 to 2008.
He made the announcement in a statement after the party failed to win any seats in Saturday’s legislative elections.
Photo: Yen Hung-chun, Taipei Times
“I could not sleep last night and engaged in deep reflection,” Chen said.
“I fought the battle, but as the gardener of this small tree [TAPA], I feel it is beyond my ability to water, tend and watch it grow anymore,” he said.
“I am resigning, and would like to thank everyone for their support and votes, as well as those who have accompanied me from the very beginning to today,” Chen said.
TAPA, created by Chen with the backing of supporters of Taiwanese independence, was launched in Taipei on Aug. 18 last year.
The party advocates independence and seeks Taiwan’s entry into the UN.
In a video shown at the party’s launch, Chen said he believed that TAPA could secure 1 million votes in the legislative elections and win at least three seats or surpass the 5 percent threshold required for at-large seats.
Chen, embroiled in corruption scandals from his time as president, was first detained incommunicado on Nov. 12, 2008, and released on Dec. 13, 2008, after being charged.
He was detained again on Dec. 30, 2008, for nearly two years and after being sentenced to 20 years in prison on a series of corruption charges, began serving his sentence on Nov. 11, 2010.
Chen has maintained that his incarceration was the result of a political vendetta by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for his pro-independence views.
He was in prison until January 2015, when he was released on medical parole.
On Nov. 5 last year, Chen had his medical parole extended to Feb. 4 — the 20th time he has received an extension.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS