The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday pledged to boost efforts to oust President Chen Shui-bian (
Promoting a second recall motion in the Legislative Yuan and letting voters decide the future of the president in a referendum will be a victory for all Taiwanese, KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The second recall motion will not be an `exit strategy' for the anti-Chen campaign. What it should be is an `entrance strategy' for Taiwanese," Ma said during the party's central standing committee meeting yesterday.
He made the remarks following a speech by Emile Sheng (
Sheng expressed disappointment over the KMT's passive approach to joining forces with the anti-Chen protesters by demanding the president's resignation from within the system.
"[The campaign] is trying to establish core values for our society. As the largest opposition party, the KMT should not give up its advantage in the Legislative Yuan," Sheng said, adding that the party should take advantage of its majority in the legislature to oust Chen by pushing for another recall motion or toppling the Cabinet.
"What is the KMT's attitude? Why has the party done nothing since the new legislative session began?" he added.
Ma said that the KMT has never been absent from the anti-Chen movement initiated by former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (施明德).
He added that the party would spare no effort to ensure the success of a second recall motion by pushing legislation to redraw the boundaries of election districts and amendments to the Election and Recall Law (
"The KMT caucus has also asked party members to contact pan-green legislators and seek their support. We need to act with caution," he said.
He also denied being "weak" in opposing Shih's plan to "besiege" the Presidential Office on Double Ten National Day.
"As Taipei mayor, it's my responsibility to maintain public order. ... What I'm afraid of is that violent incidents would ruin the campaign's efforts," he said.
The first recall motion launched by the KMT in June failed to pass the legislature amid a lack of support from the pan-green camp. If a recall motion passed the legislature, a national referendum would follow.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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