Most legislators appear likely to endorse President Chen Shui-bian's (
The selection of former Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office prosecutor-general Hsieh Wen-ding (
Hsieh has the support of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus and the People First Party (PFP) caucus.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus, however, said it would hold more meetings before making a final decision.
"I think his [Hsieh's] nomination will be approved by the legislature easily," said DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"Hsieh is well-educated, experienced, and possesses a remarkable reputation as a judicial officer, ever since he began his career decades ago. I think he is the one," Ker said.
Ker said the DPP would make its final decision regarding Hsieh's nomination on Monday.
TSU caucus whip David Huang (
He said the TSU would make its decision tomorrow.
PFP caucus whip Lu Hsueh-chang (
"We have yet to come to any conclusion on this matter as of now," Lu said. "Personally, I think Hsieh is an OK candidate for this job, speaking of his educational background, his experience and his reputation. I have not found any faults."
KMT caucus secretary-general Pan Wei-kang (
"In terms of education, experience and reputation, Hsieh is OK. But we are not quite sure if this person can stand alone at work and not be influenced by politics after he takes his oath. On that, we need to hold more discussions before we make up our mind," Pan said.
The state public prosecutor-general's seat has been vacant since Wu Ying-chao (
Wu quit saying that he was taking responsibility for prosecutors' poor performance in an anti-bribery crackdown during last year's local government elections on Dec. 1. However, many alleged that he decided to step down for political reasons.
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
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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