Citing Robert Frost's poem, The Road Not Taken, DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (
"I have done what I promised to do. One can criticize me if my accomplishments are not good enough. But I have already done the best I could," Lin told a news conference.
He then went on to read Frost's poem in which the writer explains that finding himself at a fork in a path, taking the fork less traveled had "made all the difference."
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG
Lin explained that to leave his job was his version of taking "the road less traveled." While some have urged him to stay, warning that the party might suffer if he stepped down, Lin said, "it is natural to leave the leading position because my term is up."
On the eve of Lin's announcement, President Chen Shui-bian (
Lin, however, made no comment on the meeting yesterday, saying that he had clearly stated his decision to Chen. Lin also bowed to his colleagues to thank them for their support.
Concerning what he intended to do in the future, Lin said he had not thought that far ahead. He said, however, that he was willing to help the new chairman, whoever that may be, if he were needed.
Lin's decision is expected to cause vigorous competition among contenders for the party chairman position.
Possible candidates among legislators Hung Chi-chang (洪奇昌), Yen Chin-fu (顏錦福), Trong Chai (蔡同榮) and Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) as well as former DPP chairman Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and Taipei County Commissioner Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Lin declined to say which of the possible contenders he favored. He did however, say that he thought the main qualification for a successful party chairman was coordinating and finding consensus between the various party factions.
The DPP's main factions, however, indicated yesterday that President Chen's opinion would be crucial in deciding who would succeed Lin.
Among the seven contenders, three are from the newly established "Mainstream Coalition." The coalition's spokesman Shen Fu-hsiung, said however, that the group would reach a consensus on a single candidate to endorse. DPP legislators said that Trong Chai was a heavyweight candidate owing to his standing as the first-ranked Central Standing Committee member. Hung Chi-chang, however, has the support of the New Tide faction, and claims also to have the support of Lin himself. Frank Hsieh, however, has better name recognition outside the party.
According to a resolution made by the DPP's Central Standing Committee on Wednesday, candidates for the chairman post can register between May 29 and June 2 and the election will be held on June 25 by a ballot of the entire party membership.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS