After challenging the legislature on Saturday and telling lawmakers to call for a vote of no-confidence if they were that dissatisfied with the Cabinet, President Chen Shui-bian (
At the DPP's Annual Congress meeting on Saturday, Chen, speaking of recent tensions between the Legislative Yuan and the Executive Yuan, said that "if the KMT cannot accept the arrangement of the Cabinet, the only way would be to pass a vote of no confidence in the premier and thus force a legislative election."
Chen's statement was viewed by some as an attack against the KMT and a blunt response to KMT Chairman Lien Chan's (
In the air on a private trip in Taiwan's Air Force One with reporters yesterday, Chen shared his new idea and interpretation of the relationship between the Cabinet and the legislature.
"An aviator must concentrate on flying so as to bring the passengers to the destination, meanwhile he also needs assistance from the control tower. On the other hand, staff in the control tower must respect the aviator's power and they can not replace the aviator," Chen said.
In this interpretation, Chen likened the Cabinet to the pilot, and the legislature to the control tower.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) also tried to soften the blow of Saturday's comments.
Chang said that President Chen's comments were in no way a reflection of an intention to dismiss the legislature.
"President Chen was trying to propose a solution [for current political deadlock] and he does not really want a legislative election," Chang said, adding that "in fact, the power to pass a vote of no confidence in the premier is in the legislature's hands and the president has no power to actively dismiss the legislature."
However, Chen's statement provoked some KMT legislators. They thought Chen's reference to the "new president facing the former legislature [originally called the `old' legislature in Chen's speech draft]" was intended to humiliate the KMT and they appealed for a re-election of both the president and legislators.
"The best way to end the controversy between the new government and the old legislature is a re-election of both," said lawmaker Chen Shei-saint (
He added a suggestion to President Chen: "There are two opportunities [coming up] for the president to quit his job for a simultaneous re-election with the legislature. One is when the legislature sends back the Cabinet's budget proposal in September and passes a vote of no confidence in the premier. The other is at the normal legislative elections, planned for late next year," Chen said.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)