After aligning himself with the DPP legislative caucus last session, independent Legislator Eugene Jao (趙永清) has become a dues-paying member of the ruling party.
The move, though unsurprising, injects an extra dose of euphoria into the party, which has won a number of crucial votes in the legislature despite its lack of a majority.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
Dubbed a "sunny boy," Jao said he was attracted to the party's commitment to the principles of democracy and justice.
"It is my firm belief that justice should take precedence over partisan concerns, as no mortal can outlive the system," he told a news conference yesterday, flanked by well-wishers including incoming DPP secretary-general Chang Chun-hsung (
The four-term lawmaker, known for his staunch anti-nuclear stance, urged the DPP government to strive to make Taiwan nuclear-free and to push for referendum and anti-corruption laws.
"Let's give equal emphasis to economic development and environmental protection," said Jao, who broke ranks with the KMT last year over its energy policy. "Only then, can the inhabitants of this land enjoy a safe life."
In a sign of the warmth of the DPP's welcome, Chang said that the KMT would still be in in power if it had more members like Jao. "If that were the case, there would have been no need for the DPP to exist in the first place," he added.
Jao, 45, has been representing Taipei County for the past decade. His father and brother were former members of the National Assembly and now-defunct Provincial Assembly under the KMT banner.
In Oct 2000, the KMT suspended Jao's party membership after he joined with anti-nuclear groups in opposing construction of the partially built Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
The following January, the KMT revoked his membership after he formed the People's Union (
Incensed by the plant's revival, Jao launched a signature drive in a bid to oust then-premier Chang and pressured the Cabinet to call a popular vote on the fate of the project.
Neither Jao nor Chang made any mention of the episode yesterday.
Calling himself a supporter of the middle-road policy trumpeted by President Chen Shui-bian (
"Political stability will be more attainable if the country has only two parties," he said.
Indeed, Chen and Premier Yu Shyi-kun both signed the column of reference in Jao's application form.
The frank-speaking lawmaker, however, did not hide his reservations about the pro-independence clause enshrined in the DPP charter.
He suggested the party adopt more pragmatism when dealing with cross-strait affairs, noting that relations between Taiwan and China have undergone substantial change over the years.
"It is time the DPP platform, drafted when the party was in opposition, be amended to stay in tune with reality," Jao said.
Also, he confessed he is not fully at ease with factional wrangling inside the party and has no intention of joining any faction for now.
"For better or worse, at least the DPP allows its members to make known their opinions during the decision-making process, a practice that is unimaginable in the KMT," Jao said.
While a KMT member, Jao belonged to the Reformist faction where he and colleagues such as Apollo Chen (陳學聖) and Chu Li-luan (朱立倫) sought to revitalize the party -- but to no avail.
"In the end, I was expelled from the party myself," he said, adding that more will follow when the time is right.
Apollo Chen, for instance, has often complained about "being lonely," he said.
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
RSS