President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should serve as the DPP's chairman to help put an end to factional infighting that threatens to undermine the party, DPP heavyweight Sheng Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) said yesterday.
In his new book The Premier Voyage of the Century (
"The president should serve concurrently as the party's chairman, in order to settle the disagreements between his administration and the party," Sheng said yesterday.
In addition, Sheng said the president should dismiss his nine-member policy-making task force, as it's no longer able to coordinate effectively between the government and the party.
Shortly after the DPP came to power, Sheng called for the party to allow its elected officials to play leading roles in the DPP's policy-making process.
"We can learn from the US, where political parties only serve as `election machines,'" Sheng said. "Two of the party's major responsibilities then would be to nominate electoral candidates and raise funds for election campaigns," Sheng once told the Taipei Times.
The DPP heavyweight added that party policy should be reserved for the party's candidates and elected officials to debate and decide.
Sheng's proposal, however, did not attract much support at the time.
Many have clung to the party's long tradition of honoring its Central Standing Committee and National Congress as its highest policy-making bodies, both of whose members are democratically elected to represent the voices of the DPP's members.
The election of its party chairman by its members was also a progressive and democratic model that the KMT followed, many DPP heavyweights said.
Because Chen has blamed the party's dysfunctional policy-making bodies for failing to deliver him the support necessary to govern, Sheng renewed his proposal yesterday.
Lee Wen-chung (李文忠), a member of the party's New Tide (新潮流) faction, said Chen should incorporate the party's Central Standing Committee into his administration and expand its policy-making powers.
Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), of the party's Justice Alliance (正義連線), said that the committee should be reformed, as seats on the policy-making body are mostly occupied by faction members.
Leader of the party's Welfare State Alliance (福利國連線), Trong Chai (蔡同榮), said the party's central headquarters should take the initiative in mapping out reform plans, but downplayed the seriousness of factional infighting.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS