A growing number of senior DPP members think President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) should serve as the party's chairman, a source in the Presidential Office said yesterday.
But Chen isn't enthusiastic about the idea and would rather play the role of a mediator who transcends party lines, the source said.
DPP members want Chen to take up the party's helm, saying that with the president in the position, the party can better coordinate policy-making with the government.
In addition, the president is the only one with the ability to unite bickering factions within the party, they say.
According to the Presidential Office source, Chen plans to modify a negotiation mechanism set up to mediate between the government and the DPP. He also plans to replace a nine member policy-making task force with a group consisting of 30 members.
"Many DPP heavyweights have suggested that Chen lead the DPP," the source said. "They argue that due to a lack of suitable candidates, the position of DPP party chairman has gradually become too weak to enable the chairman to unite factions within the party."
But the president -- with the power and resources that his post commands -- can effectively lead the party, the source said.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), leader of the party's Justice faction, have said they hope Chen will take up the post.
Shen, who recently met with Chen, also said the president hopes the DPP will adopt internal reforms to better adjust to its role as a ruling party.
"I suggested to President Chen that he serve in both positions as president and DPP chairman, and I feel that he's increasingly willing to consider this option," Shen said.
But aides close to the president said Chen would not address the issue for now and would devote his attention to the formation of his 30-member policy-making group.
"President Chen trusts Premier Yu Shyi-kun and they communicate very well together," the aide said.
"In any case, Chen said before coming to power in May 2000 that he wished to serve as a `people's president' rather than as a `DPP president,' and he pledged not to get involved in DPP affairs."
Yao Chia-wen (
"We discussed the issue once, during a high-level meeting at the Presidential Office last month," Yao said, adding that most members thought it was inappropriate for Chen to serve as the DPP's head.
Some within the party say that calls for Chen to act as chairman are signs of trouble within the DPP that need to be addressed.
"The fact that party heavy-weights are pushing the president to take up the chairmanship indicates they are dissatisfied with him for his refusal to share resources with them," said Kao Chih-peng (高志鵬), a DPP Central Standing Committee member.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique