Huang Kun-huei (
In his inauguration speech, Huang said he was mulling changing the party's name and modifying the party's platform to reflect its move from the left toward the center.
He pledged to prioritize the welfare of the nation's middle class and minorities.
PHOTO: CNA
Comparing the Democratic Progressive Party and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to the two elder brothers in a family, Huang said that the TSU, like the third child in the family, would work to serve as a "middle force" that resolves the conflict between the "two big parties with their extreme stances."
"TSU offers a better, third choice for the people," Huang added. "We will let voters understand that the conflict between the pan-green and the pan-blue camps has to stop to ensure Taiwan's survival and development."
Huang denied, however, that this meant the party was going to tone down its promotion of Taiwanese independence.
"It is a firm Taiwan-centered approach, rather than a less radical Taiwan-independence approach," he said, adding that Taiwan does not need to declare independence because it is an independent sovereignty.
"The TSU will lead the people by promoting the values of Taiwan-ese consciousness, democracy, freedom, social justice and integrity, awaken the people with our passion and keep our promises to the people by action," he said.
These are the reasons why the party exists, he added.
Huang said that the TSU was always open to cooperation and negotiation and would lend its full support to any party in the legislature as long as the proposed bills were beneficial to Taiwanese.
"If the proposal or bill were negative to Taiwan's develop-ment, we will not support it even if it were proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)," Huang said.
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over