Leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance refused to say yesterday whether they would accept the result of a recount.
The parties' leaders met yesterday to discuss a possible meeting with President Chen Shui-bian (
"We have received a call from the Presidential Office about the meeting," PFP Secretary-General Tsai Chung-hsiung (
On Saturday night, Chen said he had agreed to demands by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Chen said the meeting could take place today without any preconditions following consultations between his chief staff and that of Lien and Soong.
"We will talk over with our KMT counterpart how to reach a consensus on this matter," Tsai said prior to meeting with his KMT counterpart at KMT headquarters yesterday afternoon.
As of press time, the alliance had yet to announce its response concerning the meeting.
Earlier yesterday, Presidential Office spokesman James Huang (
Huang added that the Presidential Office has set no conditions on where or when the meeting may take place.
KMT Secretary-General Lin Fong-cheng (林豐正) said that the alliance's demands are simple: an immediate recount of the March 20 vote, the assembly of a special task force to investigate the March 19 assassination attempt against Chen and a probe of the activation of the national security mechanism after the shooting.
Lien, who lost to Chen by a margin of less than 30,000 votes, has refused to concede defeat, alleging voting irregularities, for which he has not provided evidence, and raising questions about Chen's gunshot wound.
Lien's previous appeal to the Taiwan High Court for a recount was rejected on Wednesday on the grounds that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had not yet officially declared Chen the winner.
While Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), a KMT vice chairman and the manager of the alliance's national campaign team, said during the rally on Saturday that the result of a recount should be accepted, alliance spokesman Alex Tsai (蔡正元), at a press conference later Saturday, refused to say whether Lien and Soong would accept the result.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
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Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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