Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Accompanied by senior party officials, Lien and Soong held an hour-long closed-door meeting at the KMT headquarters at noon.
Describing Lien and Soong's discussion at a press conference afterwards, KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
"Lien and Soong are very concerned about election campaigns," the KMT's Chang said. "They said each party should work out its vote allocation plan and that they should meet again shortly before the election to discuss how they can coordinate each side's plans."
Chang attacked the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government's performance and said the KMT and PFP need to strengthen cooperation in order to allow the will of the Taiwanese people to be heard in the election.
Lien and Soong, said Chang, are "cautiously optimistic" about the outcome of the legislative campaign. "But both parties have to careful because our rival [the DPP] has lots of tricks," Chang added.
PFP spokesman Hsieh Kong-ping (
In related news, in an ironic gesture against President Chen Shui-bian's (
Lifting boards bearing the phrase "soft turn-in," PFP lawmakers, Liu Wen-hsiung (
"According to Chen's reasoning, demonstrations such as the rallies at the Ketagalan Boulevard immediately after the presidential election and the protest outside the Central Election Commission, can all be considered `soft coups,'" Liu said. "In this case, I am indeed a part of the coups since I was participating in most of these demonstrations."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost