President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government would create a mechanism to deal with transitional justice, but declined to comment on any particular case following disputes surrounding the proposed removal of the potrait of Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) from the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) triggered criticism from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) following his proposal to scrap the gesture of saluting to the portrait of Sun, who is often referred to as the “founding father” of the nation, during official ceremonies by amending the National Emblem and National Flag of the Republic of China Act (中華民國國徽國旗法) and the Oath Act (宣誓條例), adding that there is no constitutional basis for Sun’s title.
The proposal led to criticism from the KMT.
Asked to comment on the proposal when attending the party’s weekly Central Standing Committee meeting in Taipei, Tsai said that while it is good for DPP caucus members to have some innovative ideas, some issues need to be more thoroughly discussed.
“Individual caucus members have displayed the vitality of the new legislature and, while these proposals are important, the DPP, as the largest party in the legislature, needs to have strategic thinking on certain issues,” Tsai said. “For politically sensitive and major issues, there needs to be more discussion at caucus meetings or through internal policymaking mechanisms.”
Tsai said the legislative caucus would create a mechanism for internal communication, while the party’s think tank would establish channels of communication with the caucus.
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