Independent lawmakers Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) and Chen Chin-ting (陳進丁) yesterday said they have decided to put on hold a plan for the establishment of a new political party.
Lo and Chen said the decision was made partly because they think political issues should be downplayed for the time being, when improvement to the economy is what most people seek.
The lawmakers, meanwhile, admitted that they are watching the development of another new political party aligned with former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lo, who had previously expressed an intention to leave his constituency in Taipei County to run in Taipei City, said he has not made a final decision as to whether to seek re-election.
"I'm now taking a wait-and-see attitude. As economic conditions are worsening, working to save the economy should come before politics," Lo said.
Lo and Chen originally planned to established their party later this month.
Expected members of the party are all from the National Non-Party League (
In addition to Lo and Chen, the other four are Tsai Hau (
The organization of the new party has been going on for months, and KMT legislator and business tycoon Gary Wang (王令麟) has reportedly planned to work with the League to organize the new party.
Wang, however, announced in June that he would not seek re-election and denied plans to join any new political party. The new party's reputation as a union of "black-gold" politicians is believed to be a reason for Wang's withdrawal.
While organizers of the new party said that they would continue their plans despite Wang's decision, the work is taking place in a more low-profile manner than before.
Chen Chin-ting yesterday said that the new party will definitely be founded, but the date of its establishment might be postponed until the next legislative session reopens in September.
Chen said lawmakers from the league, making use of the time during which the legislature is adjourned, are too busy with the year-end legislative election campaigns to meet and finalize their work.
Chen said that the preparatory work for the party's organization has been completed, and a total of 27 politicians, including a number of former deputies to the National Assembly and Taiwan Provincial Assembly, are potential members of the party and will represent it when running in the year-end elections.
None of the 27 have thus far expressed any intention of joining Huang's party.
Many politicians have reportedly been in contact with both of the new party groupings and are comparing the campaign funds offered by the two.
Campaign costs can range from NT$10 million to NT$100 million per candidate.
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