Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Den-yih (
Wu made the remarks following reports in yesterday's China Times and the United Daily News which said that Wu was set to take over incumbent Chan Chun-po's (
Emphasizing that he claimed "no right to choose battles," Wu said that taking on the job of secretary-general would be an honor and a great opportunity.
Wu said he would not resign from the legislature if he was granted the new position, as holding the two jobs would enhance interaction and communication between the KMT legislative caucus and party headquarters.
Five goals
Wu outlined five goals to help Ma push for KMT reform -- to streamline the party, to solve the problem of the party's assets, to use wisdom, to employ talented people and to express sympathy for the public.
Wu was elected to the legislature in 2001 for Nantou County after failing in his re-election bid for Kaohsiung mayor in 1998. He was re-elected to the legislature in 2004.
Wu yesterday told the press that he would tap Chan to be one of the party's vice chairmen.
Chan has held positions as deputy director of the KMT's policy committee, Taipei branch director and former KMT chairman Lien Chan's (
Chan also served as Ma's campaign director when Ma was running for Taipei mayor in 2000 and has been assisting Ma since he took over the party chairmanship last August.
Chan was not available for comment yesterday.
Despite Wu's openness on the matter, Ma declined to confirm Wu's appointment.
The KMT chairman merely said that "if the secretary-general was also a legislator, he would have a deeper understanding of the legislature and handle the job better. That would be a good thing."
Personnel reshuffle
After leaving his post as Taipei mayor last month, Ma has been considering a personnel reshuffle in the party to show his reformative efforts.
Besides Chan, other top-level party officials, such as Liao Feng-te (
Asked whether he would pair up with Ma to contest the 2008 presidential election, Wu said he had never thought about it.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
But Wang said that if Wu doubled up as secretary-general and lawmaker, it would help Ma to better coordinate with the legislature.
The possible replacement, however, was no simple matter.
KMT legislators Wu Yu-sheng (
"Last week I got an e-mail in Chan's name that said he had failed in his duties and would like to retire from office," Wu Yu-sheng said.
Lai, who said he also got the e-mail, said he had asked Chan about it, but Chan told him that he didn't even know how to send an e-mail.
Disapproval
Some KMT lawmakers disapproved of the possible replacement, with KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (陳杰) saying Wu Den-yih has infrequent interaction with his legislative colleagues.
"He needs to improve that if he wants to become the party's secretary-general," Chen Chieh said.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all