President Chen Shui-bian (
"When I served as a legislator my aides made mistakes, such as miscalculating figures or misplacing decimal points at times," Chen said.
"I always encouraged them not to be afraid of these experiences because I would be able to help them improve," Chen said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has responded to DPP attacks regarding KMT Chairman and presidential candidate Lien Chan's (
A DPP campaign booklet focusing on Lien's real estate holdings said that Lien owned 699.45 hectares of land and apartments in Taipei. In a second version of the booklet, the figure was changed to 699.45 kungmu. The KMT says that the second figure is inflated as well because it is expressed in the wrong unit, and it should in fact be 699.45m2.
The Presidential Office yesterday sponsored a gathering at which the president welcomed incoming members of the Second Presidential Office Fellows corps, who will work as volunteers in public affairs over the coming year.
Chen praised the young generation for its creativity and vision, which he said are the driving force behind bringing progress to the government and the country.
"During my time as a legislator, I never ignored my aides' proposals or their suggestions, even ones that weren't mature," Chen said. "I read what they wrote with a sense of respect and tried my best to derive maximum benefit from their ideas."
Chen said that many talented young people have assisted him in his political career.
Thirty-five earthquakes have exceeded 5.5 on the Richter scale so far this year, the most in 14 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said on Facebook on Thursday. A large earthquake in Hualien County on April 3 released five times as much the energy as the 921 Earthquake on Sept. 21, 1999, the agency said in its latest earthquake report for this year. Hualien County has had the most national earthquake alerts so far this year at 64, with Yilan County second with 23 and Changhua County third with nine, the agency said. The April 3 earthquake was what caused the increase in
INTIMIDATION: In addition to the likely military drills near Taiwan, China has also been waging a disinformation campaign to sow division between Taiwan and the US Beijing is poised to encircle Taiwan proper in military exercise “Joint Sword-2024C,” starting today or tomorrow, as President William Lai (賴清德) returns from his visit to diplomatic allies in the Pacific, a national security official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said that multiple intelligence sources showed that China is “highly likely” to launch new drills around Taiwan. Although the drills’ scale is unknown, there is little doubt that they are part of the military activities China initiated before Lai’s departure, they said. Beijing at the same time is conducting information warfare by fanning skepticism of the US and
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
DEFENSE: This month’s shipment of 38 modern M1A2T tanks would begin to replace the US-made M60A3 and indigenous CM11 tanks, whose designs date to the 1980s The M1A2T tanks that Taiwan expects to take delivery of later this month are to spark a “qualitative leap” in the operational capabilities of the nation’s armored forces, a retired general told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday. On Tuesday, the army in a statement said it anticipates receiving the first batch of 38 M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks from the US, out of 108 tanks ordered, in the coming weeks. The M1 Abrams main battle tank is a generation ahead of the Taiwanese army’s US-made M60A3 and indigenously developed CM11 tanks, which have