President Chen Shui-bian (
Proposed amendments to the DPP charter would allow Chen the option of handing the chairman's post to one of three vice chairmen with the approval of the DPP's Central Executive Committee.
The amendment appears to lay the groundwork for Chen's withdrawal from party structures and the cultivation of a perception of impartiality in regard to constitutional reforms, which are scheduled to be completed by the end of Chen's second term in 2008.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) on Friday proposed an amendment to Article 15 of the DPP charter which would allow the chairman, if also serving as president, to appoint one vice chairman among three to replace him.
The current rule, passed in 2002 in an attempt to step up cooperation between the Presidential Office and the party headquarters, stipulates that if the DPP is in power, the president should serve concurrently as party chairman. It also says that if the DPP is in opposition, the chairman shall be elected by all party members. The rule also provides for the appointment of up to three vice chairmen.
Up until now, however, the DPP has not appointed any members to these posts.
The revision will be sent to the party's national congress on July 18 for review and approval.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said one of the most important functions of the amendment was to allow Chen to remain neutral while soliciting and integrating opinions on constitutional reform from across the entire political spectrum.
"With the goal of reforming the Constitution, we need to think about how to adjust the party's role so that it can become a helping force rather than an obstruction," Chung said.
The proposal, if passed, will reverse the trend toward simultaneous operation of DPP and state affairs, an area which the DPP co-ordinated poorly in the first two years of Chen's first term.
Clear line
Chung said that a young party such as the DPP must seek to adapt to meet the needs of a changing society.
"The party has always thought about how to draw a clear and appropriate line between the operations of the party and the state," he said. "Several factors may come into play -- such as fears that the DPP might follow in the authoritarian footsteps of the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party], tying the party and state together to maintain smooth operations between them."
When asked if the amendments might lead to excessive presidential power, Chung said that would not necessarily be the case because presidential candidates were still subject to the DPP's nomination process and approval from the DPP national congress.
The amendment was meant to provide Chen with a degree of flexibility to do what he thinks is necessary in the best interests of the party, which was to remove himself as chairman, Chung said.
Successor
Speculation on Chen's successor as DPP chairman has largely focused on three men: Chen's chief of staff, Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang (
But Su, thought to be Chen's No. 1 choice for the chairman's job, said on Friday he would withdraw from elections for a seat on the DPP Central Standing Committee. The committee is the highest decision-making body of the party.
Committee membership is a prerequisite to serve as a vice chairman, however, and analysts consider it likely that Chen would choose Su as one of three committee members to be appointed by the party chairman.
The DPP yesterday did not confirm that Chen would step down as party chairman, but it was widely believed that he will wait until after December's legislative elections if he does so.
News of the amendment came as a shock to at least one faction leader yesterday.
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
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