With post-election cooperation again becoming a hot topic, KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (
In addition to asking President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) to abide by the constitutional framework -- a semi-presidency -- the KMT wants Chen to respect the majority party's or majority alliance's right to lead the formation of the Cabinet and give the KMT a chance to improve the economy.
"Of course anything is possible after the elections, but if we are to cooperate with the DPP, these three preconditions are a must," Lin said.
Responding to the KMT's demands, DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
Wu said it is inappropriate to talk about such preconditions since votes have not been cast and the number of seats to be won by each party is still unknown.
"If the KMT [election effort] ends up a debacle, will the KMT still be qualified to set any preconditions?" Wu asked.
Discussion over the possibility of a KMT-DPP coalition after the Dec. 1 legislative elections surfaced again over the past days, after two pro-localization KMT candidates from Taipei -- Legislator Chen Horng-chi (
Their suggestion has been interpreted as a move to bring to the surface the struggle over the party line and has fueled reports that some KMT politicians would defect to the DPP after the elections.
While the pair is suspected of being among the potential defectors, some DPP and People First Party (PFP) members have gone so far as to claim that they had a list of names of those ready to jump ship.
Lin yesterday dismissed the reports as the kind of false information spread by rivals in an attempt to split the KMT and boost their showing in the Dec. 1 polls.
"Both the DPP and PFP have been trying to split the KMT, plundering a house when it is on fire. They want to split the KMT to save their shaky campaigns," Lin said.
Lin guaranteed that no KMT members would leave the party after the elections.
On the contrary, a "considerable number" of non-KMT politicians would become the KMT's allies after the elections, Lin said.
He said the "personal opinion" and campaign tactics of the two candidates will be respected, as long as they do not hurt the party.
Chen Horng-chi and Chen Hsueh-fen yesterday dared their accusers to present evidence to back up allegations that the pair would defect to the DPP after the elections.
They said they would quit the legislative races if such evidence was made available.
They stressed the purpose of their bid is to push for party-to-party negotiations between the KMT and DPP to form a strong Cabinet capable of resolving the nation's economic problems.
Meanwhile, New Party heavyweight Yok Mu-ming (
Yok said the KMT, PFP and New Party should negotiate a merger after the elections to ensure the opposition alliance's victory in the 2004 presidential race.
Yok argued that President Chen has been trying to block the formation of an opposition alliance because it would threaten his next presidential bid.
In response, Lin said the format of inter-party cooperation should be discussed after the elections so that a "wise" decision can be made.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
AGING: As of last month, people aged 65 or older accounted for 20.06 percent of the total population and the number of couples who got married fell by 18,685 from 2024 Taiwan has surpassed South Korea as the country least willing to have children, with an annual crude birthrate of 4.62 per 1,000 people, Ministry of the Interior data showed yesterday. The nation was previously ranked the second-lowest country in terms of total fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman has in her lifetime. However, South Korea’s fertility rate began to recover from 2023, with total fertility rate rising from 0.72 and estimated to reach 0.82 to 0.85 by last year, and the crude birthrate projected at 6.7 per 1,000 people. Japan’s crude birthrate was projected to fall below six,
RSS