DPP legislative whip Lin Feng-hsi (
"There will be more and all of them have to be upright and decent candidates. A list of names will be made public after the elections," Lin told reporters yesterday, adding that these would-be legislators would not necessarily join the DPP after the coalition is formed.
Lin's remarks followed earlier comments by DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who said that the party would later pick a coalition partner depending on each party's election performance.
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday called for politicians from across party lines to endorse the implementation of legislative reforms after the Dec. 1 elections.
He urged all legislative candidates to sign the party's endorsement papers, thus pledging their future support for pushing legislative reforms.
`Sunshine policy'
The reform plan, which was proposed by the DPP yesterday, calls for cutting the 225-member legislature by half, changing the nation's electoral method to a single-member-district/two-vote system and setting out "sunshine policy" laws in order to officially monitor party and elected officials' assets.
"The purpose [of the endorsement signatures] is to carry out the principles of party politics. If [candidates] fail to put down their names on the endorsement list before the elections, then it won't be easy to ask them to live up to their promises after getting elected," Hsieh said.
He added that some legislators have rejected the legislative reforms, although the DPP has proposed 30 bills and the KMT has proposed nine bills to facilitate the reforms.
Throwing their support behind the party's move, nine DPP legislative candidates running in Taipei City, including Lo Wen-chia (
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday reaffirmed the party's claim that the party winning the majority of legislative seats -- or a majority alliance -- should lead the formation of the Cabinet after the Dec.1 elections.
Lien said the KMT would not rule out the possibility of allying with any political party if it remained the largest party after the elections, though he said it is easier for like-minded parties to create alliances.
But the KMT would in any case only discuss the matter after the elections and would insist that any such cooperation plan be established through party-to-party negotiations, Lien said.
"We won't rule out any possibility with respect to this question. Party-to-party negotiations will be a necessary step," Lien said, when questioned by reporters during a campaign tour in Taichung.
Lien, however, suggested that the new Cabinet should be formed according to the constitutional framework -- rather than one person's choice -- after the elections.
He dismissed the DPP's claim that the president has the "indirect power to form the Cabinet" as being unconstitutional.
"Politics should be based on the idea of majority rule," Lien said. "If the DPP continues to lead a minority government, it will be like taking the people's political power hostage, which will be unconstitutional," Lien said.
Strict examination
Lien said the Dec. 1 legislative and local government elections are typical of interim elections usually seen in democratic countries. He said it is in these elections where the ruling party will face a strict examination by the electorate.
Lien argues that this is especially true for the DPP, who, halfway through its rule, has "led" the nation's economy into a severe recession.
He urged the DPP to respect the majority opinion as it will be expressed in the Dec. 1 polls, saying the opposition would otherwise assume its "constitutional responsibility."
Though Lien would not elaborate on what this "responsibility" entails, it is widely believed to mean the instigation of a no-confidence vote against the premier.
Lien's remarks came as the possibility of post-election coalitions has again become a hot issue, following a recent proposal by two "pro-localization" KMT legislative candidates that the KMT should form a coalition Cabinet with the DPP, instead of with the PFP -- to ensure political stability and the KMT's continued development.
This proposal has also fueled speculation that a struggle over the party's policies could erupt within the KMT after the elections -- which may lead to certain KMT politicians defecting to the DPP.
Chao Shou-po (
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
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