Premier Tang Fei (
Meanwhile, a handful of DPP lawmakers expressed support for Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
"Wu is speaking the truth. There is no need for him to apologize," his supporters said.
Tang's wife, Chang Ming-tsan (
Chang also spoke to Wu's criticism, saying the secretary-general was just trying to articulate his viewpoint.
"What he said was frank," Chang said. "However, I would urge him to put the national interest first and look into the problems. My husband knows what he is doing."
Though still under the weather, Tang attended a banquet hosted by President Chen Shui-bian (
Chung Chin (
"After President Chen returns from his trip, Premier Tang will discuss further with Chen relations between the Presidential Office and the Executive Yuan," Chung said.
"There is more space to improve," she said, denying that there was mutual distrust between the president and premier.
Wea Chi-lin (
"He was reviewing many official documents at home yesterday," Wea said, adding that Tang would strengthen communication between the Executive Yuan and the DPP.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh yesterday ordered all party members to keep quiet over the remarks Wu made about Tang.
Nevertheless, legislators Chen Zao-nan (
"Wu doesn't need to apologize, because there are problems with our constitutional system. Many DPP officials are dissatisfied with the performance of the Executive Yuan," Chen said, urging the president to address problems in the constitution.
Tsai said Wu was speaking for Tang's own good, though he added that Wu was probably being a little too hard on the premier.
"The DPP's legislative caucus hopes that Tang will take a tougher stance on coordinating the government budget and policy formulation," Tsai said.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
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