Weighed down by the indictment of first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) for alleged corruption, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters and caucus yesterday remained quiet and appeared to be in low spirits.
When approached by the press in the Legislature yesterday morning, DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
Former DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), known for his outspokenness, said in a phone interview that a consensus was reached in a Friday night meeting that DPP members would not accept media interviews on the matter.
DPP Legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) also refused to comment on the indictment or on details of the meeting when quizzed by members of the press over the telephone.
DPP Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶) said that he found it difficult to believe that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) could be involved in corruption.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said at a campaign event yesterday that the party respected the judiciary, but "the judicial judgment may not necessarily be correct."
In contrast to the depressed mood among DPP legislators, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday again urged Chen to resign as soon as possible and allow Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) to succeed to the presidency.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (徐少萍) said that Chen had lost the public's support. According to the latest opinion polls conducted by the Chinese-language China Times, United Daily News and TVBS, 60 percent of respondents believed Chen should step down.
Hsu urged DPP lawmakers and party heavyweights to distance themselves from Chen "to save the DPP's future."
Hsu told a press conference that social stability would be better guaranteed if Chen resigned, adding that the KMT caucus would continue pushing a third recall motion in the Legislature tomorrow if Chen insisted on staying put.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), which said on Friday that it would support the pan-blues' proposal to recall Chen, said yesterday that it would not support the pan-blues' demand that Chen step down within 48 hours or else they would initiate a recall motion against him.
Chen should be given time so he can explain his side of story, the TSU said yesterday.
Meanwhile, DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (
During the event, Hsieh said that he believed all the difficulties would eventually be overcome given that the "state affairs fund" case is now being handled by the judiciary.
Hsieh's TSU counterpart Clara Chou (
In the letter, Lee, regarded by the TSU as its spiritual leader, said that he did not support the "corrupt and incompetent DPP" and that "Taiwan will be beyond redemption if voters support the corrupt DPP."
The letter ended with a call urging voters to cast their ballots for Chou.
DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Chen Chu (
also see stories:
Presidential Office in crisis: Ma calls on DPP to join recall motion
Presidential Office in crisis: Prosecutor Eric Chen: Staying true to his principles
Presidential Office in crisis: Shih lashes out at Ma over protest
Presidential Office in crisis: US hopes for stable relations even if Lu were to take over
Editorial: The president must make his case
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS