Thousands of supporters greeted former president President Lee Teng-hui (
"Go for it, Lee Teng-hui" and "Long live Taiwan" the crowd shouted, with supporters carrying banners and placards packing the airport's arrival hall on the first and second floors. "Implement the special state-to-state cross-strait relations to save Taiwan," one of the banners read.
Lee and his wife Tseng Wen-hui (
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
"Let's all have confidence in our Taiwan. We, Taiwan, are getting stronger and stronger," Lee said, his voice roaring from a handheld megaphone.
"Let's all give our government another two years to do their best," Lee yelled, with the loud cheer of his supporters nearly drowning him out.
Among the crowd, there were many members from several pro-Taiwan groups, including the Southern Taiwan Society (
Noting the political significance of Lee's return, local media kept a close eye on who was present last night to welcome home the former president.
KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"I have a pre-scheduled economic discussion with party officials and economic experts, but I welcome him home from his long trip," Lien said.
Instead, the KMT dispatched one of its vice chairmen, Huang Jeng-shyong (
Also on hand yesterday was Deputy Secretary-General to the president Chen Che-nan (
Compared to his 1995 Cornell trip -- which had the goal of boosting Taiwan's international exposure -- Lee's trip this time more or less focused on promoting his pro-Taiwan ideology back at home.
During his stopovers in Los Angeles, Lee claimed that "as long as Taiwan's economic downturn continues, I won't retire," and said his efforts to bolster Taiwan's democracy and freedom would continue.
His remarks have left political watchers shell-shocked and many speculating on the future direction of domestic politics. There's been talk Lee will back a group of pro-Taiwan legislators to support the DPP, though the former KMT chairman says he has no intention of forming a new political party.
Now that Lee has returned, political watchers will be keeping a close eye on future developments.
A pro-Lee faction organized by one of Lee's right hand men -- Huang Chu-wen -- reportedly will register itself as a new political party by the end of this month, and the group will then announce its list of slated legislative candidates. The group intends to back President Chen Shui-bian (
In addition, Lee is expected to face down KMT heavyweights who, on Monday, threatened to have his party membership revoked.
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking US$2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Co, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), on Friday said in a statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. The Panamanian government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
RSS