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 (
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2