High-ranking Democratic Pro-gressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday suggested that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) remain in the party chairmanship position to continue to mediate between state and party affairs.
The DPP's party development committee, made up of 13 party heavyweights including Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Kaohsiung City Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), yesterday reached initial consensus to suggest Chen remain in the chairman post and exclude the possibility of a direct election for chairman by all party members should the president declines to continue serving as the chairman.
The suggestion is believed to defuse the thorny question of who will succeed Chen to be the chairman.
The committee's consensus came in the wake of Chen's announcement last month that he wishes to step down from the chairmanship early next year in order to maintain impartiality for the constitutional reform project.
"It is normal that leaders of the ruling administration be the leader of his party," said Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), the DPP's policy research and coordinating committee deputy director.
"Examples of this can be found in France, Germany and the US; therefore, it is perfectly legitimate that President Chen remains as the chairman of the party," Liang said yesterday.
In addition, the committee suggested that a direct election for the party chairmanship be rejected on the grounds that the power of a chairman chosen by all party members would be at odds with the president.
Lu, who joined the committee for the first time yesterday, one day after her appointment to the Central Standing Committee, said only that "It is the best that the president remains as the chairman to continue the steadfast leadership."
Legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) yesterday said the ramifications of Chen continuing his chair-man position will be less negative than the consequences of him quitting the job, and therefore Chen should continue to lead the party.
The meeting concluded with discussion about revamping the party platform on ethnic equality to underscore the importance of diversity.
This is an attempt to address the political confrontations following the March 20 presidential election, which some believe have led to social divisions between Hoklo people, commonly known as Taiwanese, and Chinese Mainlanders.
DPP Ethnic Affairs Director Yang Chang-cheng (楊長鎮) said the party will revamp the ethnic aspect of the party platform in the form of a resolution.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS