Reacting to President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) disapproval of the new Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) movement, the proposers of the idea -- the DPP's candidate for the Taipei County commissioner election, Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), and former legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) -- yesterday said that the president's comments might thwart the movement.
Nevertheless, they said they still hoped the DPP could insist on reform, since this was generally expected by the people of Taiwan.
"Good advice always falls hard on the ear," said Luo, who was criticized by Chen to his face on Thursday evening during a meeting with high-ranking DPP officials to discuss remedies for the party's damaged image after a recent trail of corruption allegations.
"But I think the president's opinions are alright and acceptable to me," Luo said.
Spirit
At the meeting in Taipei Guest House, Chen said that he could identify with the spirit of the new DPP movement and that it was beyond doubt that the DPP needed reform, but he could not agree with the title of the movement.
"The term `new' indicates the existence of `old.' But how do we distinguish between the new and the old in the DPP? Such a differentiation will only cause huge misunderstandings," Chen said.
Chen said that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) experienced a split because of a similar campaign and this should be a lesson for today's DPP members.
The New KMT Alliance (
In reaction to Chen's comments, Luo yesterday said that according to his observations public expectations for reform of the DPP has reached a critical point and the party would rapidly lose support if it fails to deliver concrete results.
"I think there is no reason to stop it [the new DPP movement] as a Pandora's box has been opened," Luo said.
"If the angle and scale of the reforms do not satisfy the public's expectations, they will feel frustrated and will not trust the DPP anymore," he said.
Setback
Tuan, who also listened to Chen's views on the new DPP movement, said that the president's remarks were a telling setback to the movement and he was quite surprised at the president's comments.
"As far as I know, the public in general has a positive and affirmative attitude toward the new DPP movement," said Tuan, who is leader of the DPP's New Tide faction.
"The fundamental values that the movement addresses are regaining people's trust of the DPP's integrity and sticking to reform plans," he said.
"I don't think focusing on the name of the movement is meaningful and it would only blur the nature of the movement," Tuan said.
Luo echoed Tuan's opinion, saying that the title was corrigible but that there was no reason to shrink back from the direction the movement was taking.
"The chance [for change] is temporary and the DPP has to seize the moment to prove its resolve to enact reforms and conduct self-investigation," he said.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
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
RSS