People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
"The Presidential Office issued an erroneous accounting in its press release promoting Chen Shui-bian's new book, making false accusations against me," Soong said.
"I demand Mr. Chen Shui-bian and the Presidential Office offer me a solemn apology in the same fashion," Soong added.
The Premier Voyage of the Century (
In a chapter released by the Presidential Office in the form of a press release on Tuesday, Chen recalls the demonstration held by Soong's supporters in front of the KMT's headquarters soon after the presidential poll on March 18 last year, in which the protesters asked then KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (
Chen says this was an "inconceivable" scene in a democracy.
"Mr. James Soong was an independent candidate. As it was his own choice to quit the KMT to run in the [presidential] race, how could he collude with his supporters' to besiege KMT headquarters and demand that the chairman of another party step down?" Chen says.
To rebut Chen's account, Soong said the protesters wanted Lee to step down because they "felt cheated" by bogus opinion polls released by the KMT.
"It was Lee Teng-hui's policy that caused the KMT's fall from power, and this is something that all people are well aware of," Soong said.
Soong said Chen should not have put all the blame on him for the demonstrations and he urged Chen to "stop treating the state machine as his personal campaign tool to attack the leaders of other parties.
"Instead of trying to do something to improve the economy, he is fighting an election campaign and embarking on a machine-gun shooting spree against all politicians," Soong said.
Also yesterday, a group of PFP lawmakers asked the Control Yuan to initiate a probe into what they called President Chen's "use of government resources for private purposes." They also accused the president of violating the principle of administrative neutrality.
According to Liu Wen-hsiung (
Also, Liu told his constituents in Keelung, that posters are pasted up almost everywhere in which Chen invites people to take a one-day tour of the Presidential Office.
"The DPP and President Chen have set the worst example in these elections," Liu said.
Lin Chung-te (林春德), meanwhile, said the Control Yuan should check whether Chen is using the resources of the Presidential Office for campaign activities, as Chen is set to participate in around 40 DPP campaign rallies during the final month of the campaign.
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