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 (
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
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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