Deputy Legislative Speaker Chung Jung-chi (
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the PFP, which is entitled to recommend three candidates for the Control Yuan in proportion to its number of seats in the Legislative Yuan, was planning to recommend two of its legislators -- Feng Ting-kuo (馮定國) and Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄).
The party had informed PFP Chairman James Soong (
Soong, however, rejected the suggestion, saying the PFP would not send any recommendation list to the president, the source said.
Asked about the nomination, Feng said he did not know anything about the Control Yuan nominations, adding that he was busy with his bid for re-election in Taichung County.
Meanwhile, PFP sources, who declined to be identified, said that the PFP could face strong pressure from its Hakka contingent if the party were to boycott Chen's new list of Control Yuan nominees, especially if Chung, a Hakka, is nominated for the vice presidential post.
Presidential Office spokesman David Lee (李南陽) said on Thursday that if the opposition-controlled legislature was willing to deal with the Control Yuan nomination issue during its new session, scheduled to open next month, Chen would refer a new list for lawmakers to screen.
The Control Yuan's functions have been suspended since the tenure of its previous members expired on Jan. 31, 2005, while PFP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers continued to refuse to review the president's nominees, saying the nominees failed to meet public expectations.
On Wednesday, the Council of Grand Justices ruled that the legislature's refusal to review the list was unconstitutional.
The council, ruling in response to a request by Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers for an interpretation of the constitutionality of the legislature's Procedure Committee's refusal to place the Control Yuan nomination review on the legislative agenda, said that such a move violated the spirit and provisions of the Constitution.
The ruling said that the Control Yuan is one of the nation's most significant government bodies, and the Legislative Yuan is obligated to screen the Control Yuan nomination list proposed by the president in line with the constitutional provisions.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
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VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai