The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will discuss whether to reshuffle its leading personnel at the weekly meeting of its Central Standing Committee next week, a senior party official said Saturday.
DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and his two deputies, Lee Ying-yuan (
Lee Ying-yuan said President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who doubles as DPP chairman, has not immediately accepted their resignations.
"The issue will be addressed at the DPP's weekly meeting [tomorrow]," Lee said.
The DPP garnered 89 of the 225 legislative seats up for grabs, a rise of two seats from the previous level, while its vote ratio also edged up 2.34 percent. Nevertheless, it fell far short of the DPP's target of winning 96 to 101 seats, and the pan-green camp failed to win a majority in the legislature -- a necessity if the Chen administration was to follow through with its reform agenda.
Asked whether Premier Yu Shyi-kun will step down and whether the Cabinet should be reshuffled, Lee said the issue has not been discussed.
"The competition [in the election] was very fierce. The fact that we managed to gain more seats and more votes indicated that our reform agenda has received popular support," Lee said.
As 14 of the party's incumbent lawmakers failed to win re-election, Lee said the DPP headquarters, and himself in particular, will assume full responsibility for the failure of the party's "vote-allocation" campaign strategy.
Meanwhile, DPP legislative whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the DPP should take the initiative to push for reconciliation and cooperation with the opposition pan-blue camp of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the People First Party.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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