The decision by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus to oppose President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) nominee for state public prosecutor-general was an unexpected move, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
"The policy coordination department said that the caucus would hold an open vote on the nomination, but [the caucus] later opposed it. I am surprised [by the decision]," Ma said yesterday morning after presiding over a municipal meeting at Taipei City Hall.
Ma met with executive director of the department Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) on Sunday night to discuss the party's stance and asked the party caucus to hold an open vote on the issue in an attempt to prevent any delay of the nomination. The party caucus, however, decided during the caucus meeting that it would cast blank votes for the nomination.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
The president's nominee Hsieh Wen-ding (謝文定) failed to receive the endorsement of half of the legislators present yesterday and the nomination was therefore rejected.
Ma said that he had expressed his surprise at the decision to the caucus, adding that the exercising of consent should focus on a review of the respective nominee's qualifications, rather than his political affiliation.
"The KMT is the largest opposition party, therefore all of our decisions and policies should be made with a measure of responsibility, take into account public opinion and using reason," he said.
"We respect the decision because it was made by the majority. But I hope [the caucus] takes a rational and responsible attitude during the decision-making process," he added.
KMT spokeswoman Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) denied there were divisuions within the party regarding the nomination.
"The party respects the decision of the caucus. We did not take a different view to that of the caucus," she said yesterday.
People First Party spokesman Hsieh Kung-pin (謝公秉) also said his party respected the decision of the caucus.
KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (陳杰) didn't cast his ballot yesterday, saying that he felt the decision by the KMT caucus to cast blank votes was "unbelievable."
KMT Legislator Shyu Jong-shyong (徐中雄), while obeying the caucus' order to vote against Hsieh, said the KMT had been swayed by PFP hardliners who had recently joined the KMT.
A PFP legislator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the PFP decided to boycott Hsieh because of pressure from protesters.
Meanwhile, representatives from civil groups promoting judicial reform criticized the pan-blue camp for rejecting Hsieh based merely on their political affiliations.
"We had observed how legislators reviewed Hsieh in the committee, where it seemed that [pan-blue legislators] didn't have too many complaints about Hsieh. We don't understand why they have suddenly changed their position," said Kao Yung-cheng (高涌誠), the executive-general of the Judicial Reform Foundation.
Chen Chih-ming (陳鋕銘), president of the Prosecutors Reform Foundation, said that political manipulation of the vote would damage judicial independence.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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