Vice President Annette Lu (
"I have never joined the `first force' nor will I join the `second force,' not to mention the `third force,'" she said. "It has never crossed my mind. It has never even appeared in my dreams."
Lu was responding to speculation that former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lu made the remarks during a question-and-answer session during a tea party for the Presidential Office's press corps.
She said that some media outlets would fabricate news to boost their circulation or viewership. She singled out an inaccurate report that she and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
A more recent example was the rumor that Lee wanted to see Wang and former premier Frank Hsieh (
Lu said she envied Wang in a way because he seemed to be a media favorite and he and Lee seemed to have very close ties.
Lu, who just recovered from an attack of shingles, said that Taiwan is sick and in a worse condition than she was in the past month.
She urged politicians to be less concerned about elections and personal or party considerations and more concerned about the people's livelihood. She also urged them to place more emphasis on honesty and sincerity.
Lu said that she and President Chen Shui-bian (
The remark created controversy since Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun had previously said that the party would recommend that Chen dissolve the legislature if the lawmakers voted in favor of bringing down the government.
Regarding the delay in approval of the president's nominees for the Control Yuan, the vice president said she disliked the suggestion that heads of the four branches of government review the president's nominations, saying that it would violate the separation of powers.
The Control Yuan is the government watchdog agency.
Lu, who chaired the review committee for Control Yuan nominees, said she had expressed her opposition to the idea to both Chen and Wang.
She said she didn't think Chen would follow through on the suggestion because he had told her that he would consider re-nominating the candidates on two conditions: If the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) promised not to increase the legislature's confirmation threshold from a simple majority to two-thirds and the legislature returned his nomination list before he made new nominations.
Lu also confirmed that the president had asked her to visit a diplomatic ally in Africa on his behalf, although she didn't mention a name. Details of the trip are still being arranged, she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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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