New Party convener Hau Lung-bin (
Hau, a legislator and head of the New Party's Central Policymaking Committee, said that though his political stance and ideology were at odds with the DPP's, he would join the Cabinet to prove that the New Party "really loves Taiwan."
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"President Chen Shui-bian (
Hau was invited by Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
"I told the premier and the president that I will not change my political stance on issues such as [Taiwan's] statehood and cross-strait policy, to satisfy the DPP's ideology [on advocating independence]" Hau said.
"I also told them that I will consistently support the continued construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and that I will oppose a plebiscite on the issue ... unless the Legislative Yuan passes a [referendum] law," Hau said.
Hau, whose party is ardently unificationist and has in recent years become little more than a mouthpiece for Beijing, said that the president promised to give him free rein as the new EPA chief.
"The New Party has consistently voiced its concern for Taiwan's environmental protection and now I can realize my party's ideals through this opportunity," Hau said.
Hau was asked to join the Cabinet when the DPP took power in May, but he refused an invitation from then-premier Tang Fei (唐飛).
Hau said previously that if he took over as head of the EPA, he would have to resign as convener within the New Party and give up his seat in the legislature.
Meanwhile, the premier yesterday continued to consult with close advisors and the president to decide a final list of names for the upcoming Cabinet reshuffle.
"The heads of the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) and National Science Council (NSC) will be replaced," said a senior aide to the president, who refused to be named. The source added that Wei Che-he (
"As to whether to nominate a new education minister to succeed Ovid Tzeng (
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS