The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday criticized the Yu Shyi-kun Cabinet as "broken down," pointing to what it called the nation's dismal economic state as proof of its failure.
Speaking on the day of the Cabinet's customary resignation, the KMT also expressed little optimism for the next Cabinet during a press conference.
"Over the past three years, the Yu Cabinet has constantly challenged opposition parties and created instability in the political arena," KMT spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
Chang said the nation only saw an average 4.2 percent growth in GDP per year, while over the three years prior to the transfer of power in 2000, the KMT government saw an average 5.3 percent growth.
Chang cited this difference as evidence that Yu's administration had "flunked." He added that this figure ranked behind those of the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
Part of the reason for the Cabinet's failure, Chang said, was President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) insistence on forming a "minority administration."
"In 2000, Chen had the excuse of just being elected when forming his `minority administration.' Three years ago, he had another excuse, because the pan-green camp saw an increase in legislative seats after the [2001] legislative elections. Now, in the face of fresh public opinion, as reflected in the pan-blue majority in the legislature, Chen has no more excuses," Chang said.
The KMT has urged Chen to nominate a pan-blue candidate for the next premier and allow him or her to assemble a Cabinet of their choice.
Chang and KMT caucus whip Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) also mocked Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight and Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷).
They said that, in selecting Hsieh as the next premier, Chen showed that his words on negotiating with opposition parties about the composition of the Cabinet were empty.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS