day as public offices and other establishments remained closed for the long holiday marking the arrival of the Chinese Year of the Pig. Vice President Annette Lu won the citation from the volunteer corps at the Presidential Office for her highest contributions to a fund-raising campaign.
The corps raised a record NT$1.2 million charity fund for the past year and Lu was credited for raising the highest share of NT$300,000 including her personal donation of NT$99,000 from a portion of the sales of her new book.
Former Premier Frank Hsieh, the first presidential hopeful within the DPP to announce a presidential bid, moved from his power base in Kaohsiung to Tainan City.
More than 4,000 well-wishers received each red envelope containing a NT$1 coin inside as a token of good luck from Hsieh. They mostly greeted Hsieh as "President Hsieh" to show their support for his bid for presidency.
When asked by reporters if he has plans to step up contact with Chinese authorities in Beijing, Hsieh said it is not suitable to touch the subject for now or he will soon be branded with labels.
Premier Su Tseng-chang proceeded with an inspection tour of the transportation services, praising the sound plans and efforts made by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications for the generally smooth transport services so far during the New Year holidays.
Su remained tight-lipped about when he will formally throw his hat in the ring and declare his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
When touring a tropical agricultural park in southernmost Pingtung County, Su was often surrounded by crowds of local residents asking to have their photos taken together with him and cheering him to "go for the presidency."
Some passionate supporters addressed him as "President Su." He dispensed "red envelopes" containing a NT$10 coin to holidaymakers in the park and wished them a prosperous new year.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-ken continued sounding out opinions of people in Yilan on whether he should make a formal run for president.
He is expected listen to more people, including voters in other areas, during the remainder of the holidays.
President Chen Shui-bian, who has agreed to intervene and help coordinate among the DPP presidential hopefuls to nominate one single team of candidates, traveled to the eastern city of Hualien to meet with families of the "228 Incident" victims.
Chen exchanged Chinese Lunar New Year greetings with the families at the office of the Concern for 228 Incident Victims Association and wished them a prosperous, auspicious new year.
The president said he came to gain a better understanding of the living conditions of the families of the 228 Incident victims, including the schooling and employment of their children.
Chen said his administration has spared no efforts to pursue the facts concerning the events in the hopes that such a tragedy will never be repeated.
Reminiscing about the group fights for land among early immigrants from China to Taiwan, a series of events in 1947 sparked by the crackdown on sales of smuggled cigarettes on Taipei streets eventually escalated into violent confrontations between old and new immigrants from China after the World War II. Many on both sides lost their lives.
Under the pressure of expanding Chinese Communist forces, the former Kuomintang (KMT) government launched a crackdown to maintain social order to prevent the province of Taiwan from falling into the hands of Communists as all other provinces on the mainland.
In modern Taiwan politics, the 228 Incident has been exploited to divide the local society for the purpose of winning ballots from certain groups of people.
The ruling DPP is playing up the incident with a series of public activities while the KMT plans separate commemoration events, including holding concerts, to heal the historic wounds and reshape a harmonious society in Taiwan.
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