Troubled by the recent war of words between the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) four presidential contenders and their supporters, President Chen Shui-bian (
In a statement issued by the Presidential Office yesterday, Chen said although it was natural for the presidential hopefuls to compete for the primary, it was not desirable "to turn the primary into a political battle."
The president also encouraged discussions of public issues among the four, but added that they should not be used as tools to attack each other.
"There should be no difference in DPP members' approach because Taiwanese consciousness is the only policy all party members should uphold," the statement said.
Chen also urged the four presidential aspirants -- Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) -- not to point fingers at each other over their administrative policies in the past seven years, because all four had served in an official capacity and cannot break away from the team.
"This primary does not concern only the DPP. It is also an important step in Taiwan's democratic progress," he said. "The whole nation is watching us. We have to insist on a gentleman's competition to achieve something that is praiseworthy."
Su and Hsieh's camps have been involved in a war of words since former Kaohsiung acting mayor Yeh Chu-lan (
Although Yeh, who earlier this week declared her support for Hsieh, said she was not targeting any specific individual, Su's supporters viewed her comments as an attack from Hsieh's camp.
Earlier yesterday, the DPP caucus echoed the president's call.
The caucus put up a notice in its press room yesterday in which caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said that anyone planning to hold a press conference to attack other DPP members would be prohibited from using the press room.
Wang also authorized caucus assistants to turn off the lights and microphones in the press room if anyone were to violate the order. "We are worried that any mistake we make now may hinder us from being united during election time," another caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference, adding that the dispute among the four had given rise to discontent among grassroots supporters.
"Some supporters have called to express their concerns that the DPP may not be able to win next year's presidential election," Wang said.
"I would like to urge the four aspirants not to forget that they are competing for a presidential primary and that as the future president, they need to learn tolerance," DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said at the press conference.
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
"He is very worried that we may disappoint the public and damage the DPP's unity. Therefore, he will no longer respond to any attacks," Hsu 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
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
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