Roughly 50 new members -- mostly top executive officials and members of the nation's social and intellectual elite -- will join the DPP tomorrow at a ceremony presided over by President and DPP Chairman Chen Shui-bian (
It will be the largest mass entry of elite into the DPP since the party was established in 1986. The party has approximately 400,000 members.
"It's a norm of party politics for political appointees designated by the ruling party to be its members," said lawmaker Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), director of the party's culture and information department.
But the director did not deny that the recruitment drive is intended in part to boost the image of the DPP after Chen took over the reins of the party last Sunday.
The DPP has been trying to increase its talent base by recruiting senior members of the government since May, when the party decided Chen would be its new chairman.
Along with professionals from academic, medical, law, business and high-tech circles, high-profile executives such as Deputy Secretary-General to the President Joseph Wu (
Wu told reporters yesterday that he was pleased to be invited to join the DPP because he has long agreed with the party's ideals. He considered joining the DPP as "a matter needed to be done."
Also on the list are Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通); Lin Te-fu (林德福), chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; Council for Cultural Affairs Vice Chairman Wu Mi-cha (吳密察); and Council of Labor Affairs Vice Chairman Kuo Chi-jen (郭吉仁).
Rejecting criticism that the recruitment drive will harm the objectivity of governmental departments, presidential officials stressed that targets of the effort were selective and they have respected the decisions of individual officials on whether they want to join the party.
They said officials serving in security departments such as the Ministry of National Defense and the National Security Bureau as well as finance departments including the central bank and Ministry of Finance were not invited because they need to stay politically neutral.
MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
Eugene Chien (
Chien was a KMT member until January last year, when he let his membership lapse.
Tchen Yu-chiou (
Kang Ning-hsiang (
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