A proposed KMT-DPP coalition after the Dec. 1 elections will not have an impact on the performance of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) in the polls, according to a TSU spokesman.
Shu Chin-chiang (蘇進強), secretary-general of the party, said yesterday that "the localization line" is one of the TSU's major policy platforms and the party welcomes anyone sharing common beliefs to echo that principle.
But he claimed that the KMT-DPP cooperation scheme proposed by two KMT candidates would not steal votes from the TSU, which is best known for its appeals based on localization.
Discussion over the possibility of a KMT-DPP alliance after the elections surfaced once again in the past several days after two pro-localization KMT candidates from Taipei -- Legislator Chen Horng-chi (陳鴻基) and Taipei City Councilor Chen Hsueh-fen (陳雪芬) -- publicly promoted the suggestion on Monday.
Their suggestion has been interpreted as a move to bring the struggle over the KMT's party line to the surface and has fueled speculation that the two KMT candidates are attempting to court votes from TSU supporters.
"Localization, democratization and pro-Taiwan are the three fundamental principles of the TSU. This kind of struggle, therefore, won't become an issue for us," Shu said.
The TSU secretary-general said his party is firm and clear about its platform.
"We will not be ambiguous about our claim, but nor will we utilize this calling to ignite ethnic tension or restrict other parties from resorting to the same calls [for localization]," Shu said.
Shu then expressed disapproval over another proposal put forward by Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明), a New Party legislative candidate in Taipei City. Yok suggested that a coalition be formed among the KMT, PFP and New Party after the Dec. 1 elections.
"If the suggestion is adopted, the president will face another recall crisis," Shu said.
Last November, the KMT, PFP and New Party formed a coalition alliance to launch a recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (
A subsidiary of a Hong Kong-based company that has lost control of two critical ports on the Panama Canal said it is seeking US$2 billion of compensation in damages from Panama over its “illegal” takeover of the ports. Panama Ports Co, a unit of Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業), on Friday said in a statement that it is demanding the sum under international arbitration proceedings that it had already started. The Panamanian government last week seized control of the Balboa and Cristobal ports on each end of the Panama Canal, after the country’s Supreme Court declared earlier that a concession allowing
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
POSSIBILITIES EMERGE: With Taiwan’s victory and Japan’s narrow win over Australia, Taiwan now have a chance to advance if South Korea also beat the Aussies Taiwan has high hopes that the national baseball team would advance to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarter-finals after clinching a crucial 5-4 victory over South Korea in a nail-biting extra-inning game at the Tokyo Dome yesterday. Boosted by three home runs — two solo shots by Yu Chang (張育成) and Cheng Tsung-che (鄭宗哲) and a two-run homer by Stuart Fairchild — the triumph gave Taiwan a much-needed second victory in the five-team Pool C, where only the top two finishers would advance to the knockout stage in Miami, Florida. Entering extra innings with the game tied at four apiece, Taiwan scored
MISSION OF PEACE: The foreign minister urged Beijing to respect Taiwan’s existence as an independent nation, and work together to ensure peace and stability in the region Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday rejected Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) comments about Taiwan, criticizing China as a “troublemaker” in the international community and a disruptor of cross-strait peace. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Wang said that Taiwan has always been a territory of China and that it would be impossible for it to become its own country. The “return” of Taiwan to China was the natural outcome of the Chinese people’s resistance against Japan in World War II, and that any pursuit of independence was “doomed
RSS