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.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS