Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members known for their outspoken criticism of the party yesterday urged fellow members to judge them by whether they were right or wrong instead of their willingness to criticize the party.
Former DPP legislator Tuan Yi-kang (
Tuan made the comments after a report in the Chinese-language China Times yesterday quoted former DPP legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) as having said that "the `11 bandits' who had been charged with violating the party's platform because of their outspoken criticism should rise together and fight back against the party's `fundamentalists' so as to `wake the party up.'"
The 11 people Shen was referring to included members of the DPP's former New Tide faction, such as Tuan, former legislators Lee Wen-chung (
Former legislators Lo Wen-chia (
The list derived from a pro-independence radio show which recently launched a signature drive aimed at applying pressure on the DPP to prevent the 11 people concerned from becoming the party candidates in next year's legislative election.
The term "11 bandits," however, was coined by the media and not by any party officials.
"Party members would do better to attack our enemies [rather than us]," Tung said.
"Quite a few DPP supporters think we should not say this, but were our words wrong? They should question if our words were right or wrong and debate rationally with us," he said, adding that the party also "misused" its party platform to restrict members capacity to voice their opinions.
Before attending the DPP caucus meeting yesterday morning, Cheng said he and the others on the list felt wronged because the party had not engaged in self reflection even after the news on Wednesday that President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) son-in-law Chao Chien-ming (趙建銘) had been sentenced to six years in jail for insider trading.
He said there had been "a tyranny of silence" within the party, which prevented many people from voicing their opinions.
Kuo urged DPP members to exchange different opinions rationally instead of "labeling" each other.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS