Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice chairman Steve Chan (詹啟賢) yesterday vowed to withdraw from the party’s upcoming chairperson election and the party if any irregularities were found on his part in the “319 shooting incident” involving then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) amid accusations that he has withheld information regarding the case.
“It is extremely heart-wrenching to hear KMT Vice Chairman Chen Chen-hsiang’s (陳鎮湘) accusations against me regarding the shooting incident involving then-president Chen Shui-bian on March 19, 2004,” Chan said.
Chen Shui-bian and then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) were shot at in Tainan one day before the presidential election in which the pair were seeking re-election, with a bullet grazing Chen Shui-bian's stomach and another striking Lu in one knee.
Chan said there should be no confusion regarding an event that has left a lasting stain on his life and constituted an important chapter in the history of both the KMT and Taiwan.
Chan urged KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) to allow him to deliver a special report to the party’s Central Standing Committee.
At the time, Chan was superintendent of the Chi Mei Medical Center, whose Tainan branch treated Chen Shui-bian and Lu.
The incident has been dogged by conspiracy theories, as Chen Shui-bian won the election by less than 30,000 votes.
Chan made the remarks after Chen Chen-hsiang, a retired army general, urged him to give a detailed account of the former president’s and vice president’s injuries.
Chen Chen-hsiang also criticized another KMT chairperson hopeful, former vice president Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), citing Internet rumors that Wu intends to change the KMT’s name to “Taiwanese Nationalist Party” as an indicator that he could become “the next [former president] Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).”
Lee proposed many pro-localization and pro-Taiwan policies during his term as KMT chairman from 1988 to 2000, which prompted some party members to defect and establish the New Party in 1993.
Hung said her decision to nominate Chan as KMT vice chairman in June last year was enough to show her trust in him, while he has been helpful with party affairs.
Chan tendered his resignation last month, reportedly due to divisions between Hung and himself over how to handle party assets.
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