With President Chen Shui-bian (
Ma called on Chen to "place the interests of the people above personal gains" and not to adversely affect cross-strait stability.
In reply to media questions after presiding over the opening of an art exhibition, Ma said he was in no mood to make any further comments on this issue, as the powers that be should make people's daily lives their top priority.
"Whether or not to do away with the council and guidelines will not add or deduct an ounce from people's problems," he said.
Ma said that the government should instead focus its attention on such problems as "credit card slaves," many of whom have ended up taking extreme measures to evade their credit card debts.
The People First Party (PFP) urged the president to "rein in his horse before he jumps off a cliff."
PFP spokesman Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公秉) said it is beyond doubt that both the US and China have deep suspicions about Chen's recent moves toward abolishing the council and guidelines, one of his five campaign promises to not destabilizing the cross-strait situation.
Chen's expression of his intention to do away with the guidelines and what he called "outdated and anachronistic" council have severely affected Taiwan's national security and international reputation, Hsieh said.
Hsieh said that if Chen continues to ignore the opposition's warnings, his party will be forced to consider the possibility of launching a campaign to recall the president together with other like-minded political forces.
""As of now, our strategy is to ask President Chen or other responsible officials to make a special report on the subject to the legislature," he said.
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Monday announced light shows and themed traffic lights to welcome fans of South Korean pop group Twice to the port city. The group is to play Kaohsiung on Saturday as part of its “This Is For” world tour. It would be the group’s first performance in Taiwan since its debut 10 years ago. The all-female group consists of five South Koreans, three Japanese and Tainan’s Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜), the first Taiwan-born and raised member of a South Korean girl group. To promote the group’s arrival, the city has been holding a series of events, including a pop-up
TEMPORAL/SPIRITUAL: Beijing’s claim that the next Buddhist leader must come from China is a heavy-handed political maneuver that will fall flat-faced, experts said China’s requirement that the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation to be born in China and approved by Beijing has drawn criticism, with experts at a forum in Taipei yesterday saying that if Beijing were to put forth its own Dalai Lama, the person would not be recognized by the Tibetan Buddhist community. The experts made a remarks at the two-day forum hosted by the Tibet Religious Foundation of His Holiness the Dalai Lama titled: “The Snow Land Forum: Finding Common Ground on Tibet.” China says it has the right to determine the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation, as it claims sovereignty over Tibet since ancient times,
Temperatures in some parts of Taiwan are expected to fall sharply to lows of 15°C later this week as seasonal northeasterly winds strengthen, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. It is to be the strongest cold wave to affect northern Taiwan this autumn, while Chiayi County in the southwest and some parts of central Taiwan are likely to also see lower temperatures due to radiational cooling, which occurs under conditions of clear skies, light winds and dry weather, the CWA said. Across Taiwan, temperatures are to fall gradually this week, dropping to 15°C to 16°C in the early hours of Wednesday
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