The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) highest decision-making body yesterday promised to support the president, as he faces his third attempted recall motion initiated by the opposition parties.
The DPP approved a resolution opposing the recall, and also stated its support for President Chen Shui-bian (
At a press conference held following the party's weekly Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday afternoon, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the majority of the commitee members, including Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Chen has shouldered his political responsibility and held himself to a standard higher than the party's disciplinary mechanism, as shown in his national address on Sunday," Yu said.
Yu was referring to the televised speech on Sunday during which Chen said he would step down if the first lady were found guilty.
Prosecutors said they had enough evidence to bring charges against Chen, but the president enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.
Yu said Chen was applying "a higher standard" to himself, because promising to tender his resignation is much more serious than being expelled from the party.
But Yu said that if the president really stepped down after the first lady's trial, the party might also decide to punish him.
Since the party had decided to oppose the third recall motion, anyone who violates the resolution will be punished, Yu added.
Earlier in the day, Hsieh, who left early to deal with a cyber attack against his campaign Web site, told the press that although the party opposed the recall motion, dissident opinions are also respected.
Before the meeting started yesterday, DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) told the press that he still believed Chen should leave his post and focus on preparing for the trial.
"If [we consider] the president family, we should offer him suggestions out of our goodwill," Cheng said. "Although many people have different opinions, I still choose to come and voice mine. I believe this is the best for the DPP's image."
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said the most important thing for the party now is for its members to project a united front in the face of the recall motion.
"If a consensus is reached, everyone please understand that the DPP certainly has to take a consistent attitude [toward Chen's case] during this difficult time," Gao said before the meeting began.
DPP Legislator William Lai (
Former DPP legislator Tuan Yi-kang (
Meanwhile, Chuang Yen (
Dressed in white, Chuang urged DPP's executive committee members to "follow their conscience" and expel the first lady, the president and the three indicted aides.
Chuang, however, was carried away by the police for violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法).
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
SECURITY: Grassroots civil servants would only need to disclose their travel, while those who have access to classified information would be subject to stricter regulations The government is considering requiring legislators and elected officials to obtain prior approval before traveling to China to prevent Chinese infiltration, an official familiar with national security said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) in March announced 17 measures to counter China’s growing infiltration efforts, including requiring all civil servants to make trips to China more transparent so they can be held publicly accountable. The official said that the government is considering amending the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) to require all civil servants to follow strict regulations before traveling to China.
RSS