DPP Secretary General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) predicted yesterday 120 lawmakers would join the president's "cross-party alliance for national stabilization" and form a stable majority in the Legislative Yuan by Dec. 10.
"Even if the DPP fails to become the biggest party after the election on Dec. 1, the DPP can cooperate with the TSU and some KMT lawmakers, who have been regarded as pro-localization, to organize the president's alliance," Wu said yesterday.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Chen yesterday stressed that it would not be necessary for those lawmakers willing to sign on to the alliance to renounce their party memberships. "We will not ask them to join the DPP, so the KMT does not have to worry about being split," Chen said at a DPP rally last night.
A presidential office aide told reporters yesterday that a decision on whether to draw up a concrete proposal for the alliance had not yet been made, but that it was clear the alliance would require some guidelines.
The aide said Chen is upbeat on his chances of successfully forming an alliance because he believes that the KMT and the People First Party (PFP) would encounter three major roadblocks which would prevent their cooperation.
"Who would they elect as [party] chairman if the KMT merged with the PFP? Who would be their next presidential candidate -- Lien Chan (
Hsieh yesterday said that if the country's founding father Sun Yat-sen (
"During the past year and a half, those three major opposition parties have devoted themselves to four goals -- cutting the government's budget, blocking the passing of bills, opposing President A-bian and restraining the Cabinet," Hsieh said. "The founding father, if he were still alive, would surely advocate the importance of solidarity and suggest that the KMT join the president's cross-party alliance."
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source