President Chen Shui-bian (
For more than a week, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has engaged in sometimes bitter infighting over Vice President Annette Lu's (
At yesterday's Central Executive Committee meeting, Chen offered only a brief comment when asked what he thought about the debate: "I hope everyone can encourage one another."
His comment came as a response to committee members Yu Hung (
However, Yu and Tsai's proposal met with disagreement from other party officials, who said the rule would contradict the party's enshrined values of democracy and freedom of speech.
While trying to interpret Chen's vague remark, DPP Legislator Lawrence Gao (
"It is a good thing to see everyone reach a consensus on the issue and stop throwing malignant remarks at each other. But using a compulsory rule to restrain each other from talking about it, that goes against the rules of democracy and progress that the party has enshrined," Gao said.
The suggestion that Yu and Tsai put forward to quell the internal squabble was a result of infighting between the sometimes outspoken Lu and her opponents within the party.
Last week, Lu launched an attack on DPP Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (
Lu subsequently lashed out at Chiu, accusing the lawmaker's father, a democracy activist, of acting cowardly during the 1979 Kaohsiung Incident rebellion against the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In response, veteran DPP Legislator Lin Chou-shui (林濁水) yesterday criticized Lu's own integrity in the incident, accusing her of turning in several fellow dissidents when she was being interrogated during the subsequent crackdown.
Lin's remarks prompted another veteran DPP member, Chang Chun-hung (
"People who haven't lived through that disaster, that hell, I hope they won't say anything." Chang told reporters. "They don't have enough credentials to say anything."
Later yesterday, Lin clarified his remarks, saying, "In the atmosphere of terror during the Kaohsiung Incident, many of the people arrested made false confessions under torture."
However, Lin criticized Lu again by saying that everyone was fearful during the repressive era and people shouldn't argue about who was more courageous at that time.
"Even though Lu was not the one turning in most of her fellow dissidents, she certainly contributed to the turning in of some of her fellows," Lin said.
The DPP's Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday approved the schedule for holding a primary for the presidential election, spanning from late October to mid-December.
According to the schedule, the party will announce the official nomination for the presidential candidate on Dec. 10 and then the presidential candidate will subsequently announce his running mate during the DPP's National Assembly on Dec. 13.
Currently, Chen is the only one within the DPP intending to run in the presidential election.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
Chinese embassy staffers attempted to interrupt an award ceremony of an international tea competition in France when the organizer introduced Taiwan and displayed the Republic of China flag, a Taiwanese tea farmer said in an interview published today. Hsieh Chung-lin (謝忠霖), chief executive of Juxin Tea Factory from Taichung's Lishan (梨山) area, on Dec. 2 attended the Teas of the World International Contest held at the Peruvian embassy in Paris. Hsieh was awarded a special prize for his Huagang Snow Source Tea by the nonprofit Agency for the Valorization of Agricultural Products (AVPA). During the ceremony, two Chinese embassy staffers in attendance
RSS