Former president Lee Teng-hui (
In an interview published yesterday morning on Ettoday -- an Internet news site -- Lee attacked the DPP's judicial and media reform efforts, saying Chen would encounter more problems in trying to impose the plans unless the president could explain what he meant by "reform."
"What is reform? [The DPP] should be more clear on its definition ? Otherwise, they are simply lies to trick people," Lee was quoted as saying by Ettoday.
"Don't try to deceive people in the name of judicial reform. [The government] is not equipped with concrete measures and clear thoughts. One can't carry out reform with words," he was quoted as saying.
Lee also was quoted as saying that Chen did not understand the impact the judicial reform drive would have.
"[Chen] had no idea how much he has to pay for [the cases]," he was quoted as saying.
However, later in the day, Lee issued a press release saying that he had never criticized the government's judicial reform drive.
According to the press release, the comments quoted on Ettoday came from "casual conversations with friends," that were taken out of context and were therefore misunderstood.
Chen's resolve to overhaul the judiciary have been highlighted in two recent events -- the detention of China Development Finan-cial Holding Corp chairman and former KMT treasurer Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) and the sentencing of DPP Legislator Chou Po-lun (周伯倫) to a six-year prison term in connection with a 15-year-old corruption scam.
Lee voiced his disapproved of Chen's drive to remove political and military influence over the media.
He said the campaign would lead Chen to failure because the pro-unification media dominates the market.
A strong critic of the DPP's China policy, Lee again reminded the government to put more emphasis on management control before it opens the economy further to the Chinese market.
"The president cannot give in, bowing to the pressure of profit-seeking business leaders," he was quoted as saying.
Asked by reporters to respond to Lee's criticism, DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said the government is committed to its reform drive, regardless of the price it might have to pay.
Chen Chi-mai said the DPP would adhere to its reform promises even though the measures might cost it voter support.
There are 77 incidents of Taiwanese travelers going missing in China between January last year and last month, the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) said. More than 40 remain unreachable, SEF Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉) said on Friday. Most of the reachable people in the more than 30 other incidents were allegedly involved in fraud, while some had disappeared for personal reasons, Luo said. One of these people is Kuo Yu-hsuan (郭宇軒), a 22-year-old Taiwanese man from Kaohsiung who went missing while visiting China in August. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office last month said in a news statement that he was under investigation
‘JOINT SWORD’: Whatever President Lai says in his Double Ten speech, China would use it as a pretext to launch ‘punishment’ drills for his ‘separatist’ views, an official said China is likely to launch military drills this week near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming national day speech as a pretext to pressure the nation to accept its sovereignty claims, Taiwanese officials said. China in May launched “punishment” drills around Taiwan shortly after Lai’s inauguration, in what Beijing said was a response to “separatist acts,” sending heavily armed warplanes and staging mock attacks as state media denounced newly inaugurated Lai. The May drills were dubbed “Joint Sword — 2024A” and drew concerns from capitals, including Washington. Lai is to deliver a key speech on Thursday in front of the Presidential Office
An aviation jacket patch showing a Formosan black bear punching Winnie the Pooh has become popular overseas, including at an aviation festival held by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force at the Ashiya Airbase yesterday. The patch was designed last year by Taiwanese designer Hsu Fu-yu (徐福佑), who said that it was inspired by Taiwan’s countermeasures against frequent Chinese military aircraft incursions. The badge shows a Formosan black bear holding a Republic of China flag as it punches Winnie the Pooh — a reference to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) — who is dressed in red and is holding a honey pot with
Taiwan was listed in 14th place among the world's wealthiest country in terms of GDP per capita, in the latest rankings released on Monday by Forbes magazine. Taiwan's GDP per capita was US$76,860, which put it at No. 14 on the list of the World's 100 Richest Countries this year, one spot above Hong Kong with US$75,130. The magazine's list of the richest countries in the world is compiled based on GDP per capita data, as estimated by the IMF. However, for a more precise measure of a nation's wealth, the magazine also considers purchasing power parity, which is a metric used to
RSS