Premier Frank Hsieh (
The DPP has recently come under fire for negotiating with the People First Party (PFP), one of its political rivals.
"Many people believe that the DPP's main policy is incompatible with negotiations with its political rivals. However, these are two totally different issues," Hsieh said.
"Negotiation does not mean that we have abandoned our beliefs," he said.
Hsieh made the remarks during his short speech before the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
He said that the DPP's main theme is to create a better Taiwan with constant progress every year, and that negotiations with the party's rivals serve the same purpose.
The premier said that, although the DPP is the governing party, it needs other parties' support to carry out its policies.
When these policies are carried out, the people of Taiwan will be able to enjoy a better life, better environment and better country, he said.
Against the background of the recent tension between the DPP and the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), Hsieh said that the DPP does not want to put undue pressure on the TSU, which would endanger ties between the two parties.
"The TSU has its own policies and theme. Our TSU friends have their own corner and their own way of contributing to the country, and we will keep it that way," Hsieh said.
The TSU and DPP have in the past maintained close ties and have cooperated under the banner of the pan-green alliance. However, relations between the two parties have become strained after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) criticized former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), the spiritual leader of the TSU, on TV talk shows last week.
The premier said that negotiation and cooperation are the main priorities of his Cabinet team members, and that he would definitely not encourage any form of disrespect toward any individual or political party.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS