Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) returned to Taiwan early yesterday morning to a greeting by the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and members of Hsieh's campaign team at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
The occasion marked the first time Su and Hsieh had met face to face after Hsieh announced Su as his running mate on Wednesday.
At a press conference at the airport shortly after Su's arrival, Su said he understood that winning next year's presidential poll would be a tough "mission" for the DPP.
PHOTO: CNA
"We have to respond to supporters' expectations to fire their enthusiasm [for the election] and boost [the DPP's] morale," he said.
Su left for the US on July 29 -- just a few hours before Hsieh returned to Taiwan from a 10-day US visit -- to show that he had no intention to compete with former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), who had expressed interest in the vice presidential position.
"I didn't expect all these things to happen in this chapter of my life," Su said, adding that he had felt uncertain when Hsieh invited him to be the DPP's vice presidential candidate.
"[But] when I turned on my cellphone, I saw there were many text and voice messages from good friends and people I respect. They all encouraged me to shoulder the responsibility," he said.
Su said he agreed to run with Hsieh out of concern for Taiwan and the party, rather than for himself.
"Someone once said that a person will not feel happy unless he or she returns to his or her hometown," Hsieh said. "For Su and me, Taiwan is our hometown."
"We will share the joy with those who are happy and grieve with those who are sad. This is what the Taiwanese people expect of Su as well as what he is determined to do after he returned [to Taiwan]," Hsieh said.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Yeh is also expected to be present at the meeting, the source said.
Yeh who was named by Chen as the Presidential Office secretary-general on Friday and will take office tomorrow.
In related news, Hsieh, in a separate setting later yesterday, reiterated his opposition to the idea of forming a Taiwan-China common market but said he supports proposals for tourist exchanges and chartered flights between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Hsieh said he opposes the proposal by his election rival, Ma Ying-jeou (
However, he said Taiwan can expand chartered cross-strait flights that operate during holidays and festivals such as Lunar New Year.
He also said he agreed with proposals to allow Chinese tourists to visit Taiwan and to permit Chinese investors to buy real estate in Taiwan.
While pursuing economic development, Taiwan should at the same time make efforts to make the people happy, he said at a workshop held in Taichung by a local industry association.
Taiwan's economic problems are mostly caused by a host of political disputes, Hsieh said, adding that he would first try to settle a series of conflicts between the pan-green and pan-blue political camps before focusing on helping his party win a majority in the Legislative Yuan, which would help the government carry out its policies.
In addition, Hsieh said that he approves of the idea of lifting bans on cross-strait transport, trade and postal links.
However, Hsieh said that he opposes the idea of forming a cross-strait common market, which he said would lead to cheap agricultural products, substandard goods and cheap labor from China flooding Taiwan.
Hsieh speculated that there would be an outflow of investment from China within five years as a result of the increasing appreciation of the yuan and increasing labor costs there.
He said that such an outflow would be a good chance for Taiwan to attract funds from China.
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
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
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
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