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.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
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