Responding to what he said was requests from his supporters, James Soong (
With Soong's statement, it is widely believed that a new party in the office would further accelerate the spilt within the KMT.
During a news conference yesterday, Liu Sung-pan (
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Yet whether there will be a National Assembly election hinges on a constitutional interpretation by the Council of Grand Justices (
Despite the lack of detail regarding the new party, pro-Soong legislator Roy Chou (
"With 17 legislators already standing on our side, it would be very easy for us to invite another 20 to 30 legislators to join our new party," Chou said.
Liu indirectly confirmed a media report that he has kept close contact with Legislator Shih Ming-te (
"As a political party, we [Soong's camp] would seek to cooperate with any party on the basis of collaboration on individual issues," Liu said.
Soong, however, said he was reluctant to see the media dubbed the new party as "Soong's party" or "the party which would be only under Soong's command," saying he has taken this step because of the public's demand.
"I wanted to reiterate that I am not the one who ever expressed a willingness to form a new party. However, I was forced to do so under requests by our supporters," Soong said.
Soong then unveiled a new career plan, saying he would neither return to the KMT nor attempt to gain a position in Chen's cabinet.
"Since I had already decided to team up with our `New Taiwanese Service Team' to establish a new party, I will not try to seek any position in Chen's government," Soong said.
In responding to President Lee Teng-hui's (
"Given the KMT's poor performance in the presidential election, the KMT's high-ranking official should review his mistakes. Why does it take so long -- to wait until September?" Soong said.
"Although I did not want to intervene with the KMT's affairs, given the fact that I was expelled from the KMT last November. But I still hope the KMT could sincerely review its mistakes. If KMT officials still choose to sit idly without trying to make up the party's mistakes, I believe the public will not be satisfied," he said.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2