Both Premier Yu Shyi-kun and Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (
Yu, as Lee's immediate superior rejected his resignation, and Yu's own resignation was rejected in turn by President Chen Shui-bian (
But the fate of both senior government figures still hangs in the balance.
Senior sources in the DPP told the Taipei Times, "Their futures will depend on the impact of today's march of farmers and fishermen. If emotions are not eased following the march Lee will be replaced and Yu's position will become uncertain."
Earlier yesterday, while Yu offered his resignation to Chen three times, presidential officials stressed that Chen had no intention of replacing any official in the wake of the policy turnaround. But You Ying-lung (
You and other DPP leaders indicated their view that Lee and chairman of the Council of Agriculture Fan Chen-tsung (
Three months after the finance ministry introduced a three-tiered risk-control mechanism on the 304 credit units of the farmers and fishermen's associations suffering from outstanding non-performing loans, the Cabinet announced Sunday evening that it would indefinitely suspend the initiative because the reform efforts had provoked enormous opposition from the grassroots.
Chen on Thursday demanded Cabinet officials take responsibility for the resentment among farmers and fishermen resulting from the reform measures and criticized the relevant officials for having hidden the truth from him.
Although James Huang (
In response to Lee's offer to resign, Cabinet spokesman Chuang Shuo-han (
During a meeting with the president yesterday, Premier Yu offered to "assume full responsibility for the furor."
The Presidential Office released a press release saying the president greatly admired the premier's courage, and was convinced that the Cabinet would ultimately achieve the goal of reform.
The president stressed that he would personally accept all criticisms of the government's handling of the situation, as he said he had done when addressing farmers and fishermen in the countryside in recent days.
The finance minister offered his resignation saying that he was frustrated and upset by the furor generated by the government's handling of agricultural finance reform and said he would step down to assume his political responsibility.
Fan, who also met with Yu, was under even more pressure to step down.
The head of the Council of Agriculture has been attacked for failing to act as a means of communication between the government and farmers and fishermen.
He had also drawn fierce criticism for being absent on a relatively unimportant business trip to Thailand during the crisis and not returning to Taiwan until Thursday. The president expressed his dissatisfaction over Fan's absence during the DPP's Central Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Fan told the media that he had warned the Cabinet not to under-estimate the opposition from farmers, adding, "I will not shirk my responsibility."
He was later reported to have stated his intention to resign today.
DPP officials yesterday called on the ministers concerned to provide the public with detailed explanations of their actions while opposition parties demanded Yu step down and the president "assume all responsibility."
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