The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is looking more determined to force President Chen Shui-bian (
KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The first lady's relationship with Chen You-hao (
Ma said the KMT caucus will make the final decision on whether to support a recall motion or try to dismiss the Cabinet. However, KMT Taipei City Councilor Lin Yi-hua (林奕華), who is also a member of the Central Standing Committee, later confirmed that the party will make the announcement on the recall proposal today.
The KMT is also initiating a signature drive called "A-bian steps down to save Taiwan" to encourage the public to demand Chen's resignation, and it is planning an anti-Chen rally for Saturday in Kaohsiung -- even though the People First Party (PFP) is sponsoring a similar rally in Taipei that day.
PFP caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (
Tseng Yung-chuan (
Lu tried to make the best of the split schedule.
"Despite having different protest rallies, the PFP and KMT have the same goal -- the president has to resign," he said.
Nevertheless, the KMT's decision to hold its own rally has rankled some PFP members.
"[Ma] is just like a runaway doctor. While an expectant mother [the PFP] is going to give birth [Chen resigning as a result of the PFP's protests], the doctor chooses to run away, using a business trip to Kaohsiung as an excuse," PFP Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said.
"I think a runaway doctor is beneath contempt," Liu said.
"Ma and the KMT initially opposed recalling the president. But now, when they realize that such a demand is gradually gaining public support, they have started to change their tune," PFP Legislator Lee Hung-chun (
Some PFP councilors urged Ma to seek pan-blue unity.
"We should work together to organize a cross-party and cross-ethnicity rally and invite everyone who is dissatisfied with Chen Shui-bian to join the protest," Taipei City Council Deputy Speaker Lee Hsin (
However, Hsin, along with Taipei City councilors Huang Shan-shan (
"You were attending an event held by a pan-blue ally, but mobilized a big group of police to protect you. Do you think pan-blue supporters will hurt you?" Huang You-chong asked.
"Last Thursday, you said you would not attend the PFP rally. Were you trying to compete against [PFP] Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜)? Will you come to the PFP's rally this weekend?" Lee asked.
Ma told the councilors that he had changed his mind because the KMT's national convention finished early.
also see story:
Editorial: Time for cooler heads
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
FIRST TRIAL: Ko’s lawyers sought reduced bail and other concessions, as did other defendants, but the bail judge denied their requests, citing the severity of the sentences Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was yesterday sentenced to 17 years in prison and had his civil rights suspended for six years over corruption, embezzlement and other charges. Taipei prosecutors in December last year asked the Taipei District Court for a combined 28-year, six-month sentence for the four cases against Ko, who founded the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The cases were linked to the Core Pacific City (京華城購物中心) redevelopment project and the mismanagement of political donations. Other defendants convicted on separate charges included Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Angela Ying (應曉薇), who was handed a 15-year, six-month sentence; Core Pacific
RSS