Speaking in his capacity as KMT chairman yesterday, President Lee Teng-hui (
Lee's first action, made at the KMT's weekly Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday, was to order KMT Secretary-General Huang Kun-hui (
Lien's previous presidential campaign platforms mark the party's "third wave of reform'' and are crucial to consolidating Taiwan's democracy, Lee said.
Lee said Lien's platform consisted of six goals, including humanitarianism, efficiency, justice and clarity.
"In particular, his declarations on restricting parties from being involved in business investments have earned much applause from the public,'' Lee said.
"For the purpose of building up a fairer environment for political competition, I believe the party should avoid direct operation of enterprises, which might cast doubts about the potential of insider trading,'' Lee said.
Lee urged the KMT to divest itself of its assets and entrust them to professional managers as soon as possible -- which Lien suggested on Sunday.
Huang echoed Lee's remarks at the committee meeting and said he would follow the party's orders in forming a special group to work out how to hand over the KMT's assets.
At a campaign rally later in the day, Lee once again expressed his strong determination to entrust the party's property to professional managers.
"The KMT would prefer to be diligent about carrying out its promises rather than simply swaggering about,'' Lee said. "We [the KMT] are not kidding. I would like to plead with the media to write as many positive stories as it can.''
Opposition critics, however, said that both the KMT and Lien are playing a two-handed strategy.
"On the one hand, Lien can gain a positive pro-reform image, which is something he really lacks, by advocating the separation of politics and business,'' DPP legislator Tsai Huang-liang (
During the rally, Lee appealed to government representatives on hand to give more publicity to the KMT's achievements in order to help win more votes.
"There were two remarkable accomplishments you can use as examples while seeking voter support, including our successful crisis management of the 1997 Asian financial storm and the efficient handling of the 921 earthquake and its aftermath last year,'' Lee said.
In other developments, senior advisor to the president Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) also attended yesterday's KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting -- and according to sources, Lee specifically asked all participants to applaud Wu's "return to the KMT family."
It is widely believed that Wu's presence was a sign that he has formally switched his support from independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) to Lien.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
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