A prominent Christian minister who played a key role in Taiwan's democratization yesterday criticized the campaign by former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Reverend Kao Chun-ming (
Kao spoke specifically about Shih's campaign to force President Chen Shui-bian (
In 1979, when Shih was the most-wanted fugitive after the Kaohsiung Incident -- a democracy protest that turned into a clash with police -- Kao gave Shih asylum and helped keep him in hiding. He ignored a bounty of NT$3 million (US$91,500) for reporting Shih's whereabouts, and was later arrested by the authoritarian government and jailed for four years and three months for helping the fugitive.
Kao yesterday said that a number of people had been asking him whether he regretted aiding Shih 20 years ago in the light of recent events.
"I do not regret it at all. I protected Shih because I love Taiwan. It was my honor to have suffered for my love of Taiwan. It was worth doing," Kao said.
Kao also delivered a stinging, if oblique, critique of Shih's claims to moral authority.
The reverend said that avarice was the root of vice, and a basic principle for people who truly loved their community was to resist the lure of money, sex and alcohol.
A number of Shih's former acquaintances, including two ex-wives, have criticized Shih's personal habits and sense of financial responsibility since the campaign to unseat the president began.
Kao also made reference to allegations that Shih was receiving money from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Beijing or both.
"It is also important to say no to the temptation of scrambling for power and profit," Kao said.
"If political figures cannot resist these temptations, forcing 100 presidents to step down in the hope of `saving Taiwan' would be in vain," he added.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from