New Party leaders yesterday continued to lash out at the People First Party (PFP), accusing the party of being two-faced (
The New Party has accused the PFP of poaching its members since the announcement on Thursday that New Party Taichung County legislator Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) would join the PFP.
New Party legislator and spokesperson Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) yesterday said, "The PFP and the New Party are just like the two characters from the cartoon Tom and Jerry. While the two might appear to be pals, the cat, Tom, actually wants to swallow the mouse, Jerry."
After Lai's meeting with New Party Convener Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) on Friday night, the two decided to continue to voice their anger with the PFP in order to reduce any negative impact Feng's defection might have on the party.
According to Lai, if PFP Chairman James Soong (
Lai also accused the PFP of being two-faced. Lai said that the PFP initially strongly supported New Party calls to suspend independent legislator Lo Fu chu (羅福助) for assaulting PFP legislator Diane Lee (李慶安), but that few PFP heavyweights actually showed up to vote on Lo's case.
Lai said the incident was an example of how the PFP only supports the opposition in public but then behind the scenes acts according to its best interests.
Rumor has it that Soong had suggested inviting New Party heavyweights -- such as the party's former convener Wang Chien-shien (王建火宣), former legislator Chou Yang-shang (周陽山) and senior member Kao Shin-wu (高新武) -- to represent the PFP in the legislative election. Lai, however, stressed yesterday that the three would never join the PFP.
Wang, who returned from a visit to China last night, held a press conference about the rumors upon his return. He told reporters he considers Soong's invitation an insult and that he would not stray from his party.
"I want to be the New Party's loyal dog," he said.
Wang earlier reportedly wrote a private letter to Feng which said that "Feng's behavior was worse than that of a dog."
In response to the criticism, a PFP spokesperson, Hsieh Kung-ping (
Meanwhile, New Party heavyweight Hsu Li-nung (許歷農) yesterday suggested that both his party and the PFP should work together closely in order to win mutual interests.
Hsu said he believes that the PFP would not try to poach the New Party's elite into its ranks intentionally.
He said he also has confidence that his party would not become a bubble (泡沫) party.
In August 1993, a group of young elite KMT members broke away from the party and established the New Party.
With only nine seats in the legislature, however, the party now faces the prospect of a PFP merger or takeover.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS