Taiwan Defense Minister Vowed to Crush Congress

At a congressional defense committee hearing, General Lee Tien-yu, the Defense Minister of Republic of China (ROC) told the legislators that Taiwan military is only loyal to the president. The issue at stake is a possible constitutional showdown between the president and the congress amid next year's presidential election. The legislators are worried that the president may declare martial law to suppress the election, possibly using military pressure from the mainland as an excuse. General Li agreed with the congress's assessment that Taiwan would not be under military pressure from the mainland at the time. However he also said, if the president declared the martial law regardless, and if the legislation vetoed the president's order, the Taiwan military would only be loyal to the president personally.

The military has been traditional a stronghold of the pro-reunion KMT party. In the seven years since Mr. Chen Shui-bian assumed the presidency of the ROC, all military ranks were replaced with people loyal to Mr. Chen.

Chen SB was charged Corruption

Prosecutors of the Republic of China believed Mr. Chen Shuibian stole government money and forging documents. Because of the immunity associated with his presidency, Mr. Chen Shuibian was not changed. However the accomplices, his wife and three staff members of the President's Office were indicated. Chen will be prosecuted after he left the office in two years.

The pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chen SB have been strangled with a range of scandals since Chen SB took office in 2001, with new scandals emerging on TV almost every evening. In the case cited by the prosecutors, Chen SB used forged forged receipt and invoice to steal secret government funding. Chen claimed those funding was ultimately used in secret diplomacy while the prosecutors found to be untrue.

On the other hand, this is just one other reason that people in Taiwan should cherish their democracy, and resist the reunification pressures until the day when the same could be seen happen on the mainland.