The son of late president Chiang Ching-kuo (
KMT Legislator John Chang (章孝嚴), the illegitimate child of Chiang, said his father devoted his life to Taiwan and served the country until his death. He also said his father's views had ushered Taiwan into an age of economic prosperity.
The lawmaker, who recently obtained a new ID card to recognize former president Chiang as his biological father, deemed Lee's remarks on Sunday against Chiang to be "outrageous" and "disreputable for Lee himself and disrespectful to my father."
While talking to his supporters in Ilan, Lee said over the weekend that Chiang simply sought to buy people's hearts to consolidate his power by extending favors to Taiwanese when he started to recruit native Taiwanese in the government in the 1970s.
As one of Chiang's targets, Lee was promoted as a minister without portfolio, but he said Chiang had failed to buy his heart as a result.
In the early 1970s, then-premier Chiang carried out a policy to recruit a large number of younger local Taiwanese politicians into the KMT and local government, which was then dominated by old-guard KMT exiles from China, to the government.
Dubbed as Chui Tai Ching (吹台青), the movement indirectly triggered the onset of localization in the KMT.
Leading politicians nowadays such as Lee, KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Lee on Sunday urged the public not to allow the DPP to suffer defeat at the hands of the KMT in the 2004 presidential elections.
Lee, the former KMT chairman who was ousted from his party over two years ago, branded Lien Chan "the new representative of alien power" on the grounds that Lien only recognizes the KMT as it was 14 years ago, when it was run by a dictatorship.
Lien had said earlier that he would like to sever his ties from the 14 years of rule during which Lee was the head of the party.
Lee's painting of the KMT as an alien power yesterday drew criticism from the KMT.
The KMT's legislative whip Lee Chuan-chiao (
Instead, the lawmaker said Lee should be held responsible for "black gold" politics during his 12 years in power and his two-year cooperation with the DPP government.
Tzeng Yung-chuan (曾永權), executive director of the KMT Central Policy Coordinating Commission, said there was no foreign power after the localization policy had been pushed by Chiang, Lee and Lien or after the DPP came to power.
"People only feel humiliated by [Lee's] remarks," he said.
"There is no distinction between a new or old regime, only between good or bad. It is natural to choose a more capable leader if the current one is bad."
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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