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.
Photo: CNA
Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his duty and used the governing party’s power to serve his own ambitions and destroy opposition parties, Chu said.
Lai not only cracked down on his old-time political enemies, such as former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), but also attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, he said, adding that Lai is worse than a communist or fascist.
Democracy is an invaluable asset to Taiwan and must not be destroyed by a dictator, Chu said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Although Lai said that people opposing dictatorship should protest against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, protesters are here to oppose the “green communists” and fascism, Chu said, adding that Lai is “the head of green communists.”
TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said at the protest they gathered to remind Lai and the DPP government that “Taiwan belongs to Taiwanese, not to Lai or the DPP.”
Lai ordered the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to detain Ko last year and launched a search of the TPP’s headquarters, but prosecutors did not find evidence of illegal cash flows and could not provide proof of alleged wrongdoing, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
The TPP would not be deterred by “Lai’s dictatorship” and “would not back off even a step,” he added.
Many Taiwanese, including some senior DPP members, cannot tolerate the situation and have criticized the Lai administration, but they were intimidated by Lai’s supporters, Huang said.
“How could it be called democracy if anyone who criticized Lai or the DPP would be bullied by his ‘bluebird’ supporters?” he asked. “We have been through the authoritarian age and would not allow Lai or the DPP government to force democratic Taiwan back to authoritarianism and dictatorship.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Responding to Lai’s remark that they should protest at Tiananmen Square, Huang said that Lai is still using smear tactics to paint protesters “red.”
The TPP’s stance is clear: “We fight against the ‘red communists’ and the ‘green communists,’” he said.
“Lai should come foreward and reply to the question of which political party is harboring the most Chinese spies,” Huang said, referring to the case of DPP member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑), who was detained and held incommunicado on April 12 on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as an assistant to National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who was minister of foreign affairs at the time.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Huang asked why Lai was covering for Wu and whether he should step down.
Red-smearing tactics do not work, Huang said, adding that portraying people who oppose Lai as comrades of the CCP is exactly what a dictator and authoritarian regime does.
Photo: Oguz Solak, Taipei Times
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS