The Taiwan Solidarity Union's (TSU) legislative caucus yesterday called on Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman-elect Ma Ying-jeou (
"Ma should not continue Lien's aggressive policy line and instead work for cooperation between the governing and opposition parties," said TSU caucus whip David Huang (
Huang said that Saturday's election only indicates that the KMT's localization forces are weakening and that he is worried that Ma will eventually lead the KMT to side with China.
TSU Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (
"When it comes to future interaction with the KMT, there is only one principle," Shu told reporters in the US. "That is, we will deal with the cooperation issue in accordance to its own merit."
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
"No matter who we are dealing with, we will exercise our utmost sincerity," he said.
Since pan-blue supporters and the public have pinned high hopes on the KMT chairmanship election, Lai said that he hopes to see a new and benign political climate in the future.
Lai also said that he does not foresee a split within the KMT, nor does his party have any desire to divide its arch political rival.
While many have considered the KMT chairmanship election as a prelude to the 2008 presidential election, Lai said that there are several challenges Ma has to overcome before he can run for the nation's top post.
They include the KMT's complicated regional fictions, self-interested KMT members who work in the public sector, the legacy of vote-buying, party assets, ethnic problems and policy line.
DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yee (
"The end of the KMT chairmanship election is the beginning of trouble for the new chairman," he said. "The election reflects one very serious problem of the KMT, and that is its ethnic makeup."
As KMT members voted overwhelming for Ma, who is of Mainland descent, over Taiwanese native Wang, Lee said that it sends a clear message.
"The KMT's ethnic problems are graver than we thought," he said "It will be a big challenge for Ma to integrate the party's `deep blue' and `light blue' forces."
Lee also cautioned the DPP to wait for the best time to seek cooperation with Wang in assisting the DPP in the legislature so Ma will have no excuse to weaken the KMT's localization forces led by Wang.
People First Party caucus whip Hsu Yao-chang (
"As long as it is to the advantage of the people, we will not oppose government bills for the sake of opposition," he said.
Hsu also dismissed the speculation that the KMT would split after the election, saying that both Ma and Wang can still work together for their party if Ma is willing to keep a low profile and seeks Wang's assistance in running the party.
Yen Chin-piao (
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
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai