Officials yesterday defended Vice President Annette Lu (
Next questioned the legitimacy of the prize as well as what it described as the wrongdoings of the major organizers.
The report said although WPPAC, together with its related agencies such as the World Peace Corps Academy and the World Peace Corps Mission, have registered with the US government, the authority of the peace prize was marred by the organization's history and the reputations of its founders.
For instance, the world peace prize, which came into being in 1990, was not granted on a regular basis, with the award going to four winners in 1995, two in 1996 and 1997 respectively, and none in 1991 to 1994, 1998 and 1999.
Controversy over the qualifications of previous prize winners also triggered misgivings on the part of critics, the report said.
According to related materials, in 1995 the prize was awarded to Han Min-su, an evangelist from South Korea, who co-founded the World Peace Corps Mission with late US congressman Robert Leggett in 1989.
The organization also crowned the controversial Cambodian leader Hun Sen in 1996, and even granted the prize to the repressive late South Korean dictator Syngman Rhee in 1996, some 30 years after Rhee passed away, the report argued.
Based on a report by AFP correspondent Michael Field, the magazine reported what it termed a hoax believed to be introduced by Han after the WPPAC awarded the world peace prize to the Tongan King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV in 1996.
Han then introduced some Koreans to sign a contract with the Tongan government in order to secure rights to explore Tonga for natural gas and to set up a nuclear waste facility, which then evaporated into thin air, the report said.
"The organization that granted Lu the World Peace Prize was just like adding flowers to brocade (
"The organization didn't ask for a single penny," Chang said.
Chang also said the foreign ministry has just played a subsidiary role throughout the process and hasn't taken the initiative in lobbying the group to give Lu the award.
Chang's comments were made in the wake of the report in the latest issue of Next which hit news stands yesterday.
In response to the Next article, the Vice President's Office issued a press release yesterday, saying the report has "focussed intense attention on the vice president." The press release also states that Lu has requested the award's sponsors to look into Next's allegations.
"We've been conducting an investigation into the validity of the report, and will hold a press conference to explain the whole episode soon," a staffer at Lu's office told the Taipei Times.
The press release said the natural gas episode in Tonga "was purely a business transaction pertaining to an individual that seemed unrelated to the award council."
Chang said Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington confirmed that the WPPAC had registered with the US government and its chief judge, Lester Wolff, as well as the former chairman of the US House Asian Affairs Committee.
"The importance of these prizes indeed varies. One can't expect each of these awards to be as grand as the Nobel Peace Prize," Chang added.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS