President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen, however, said that the historic document needs refining. The DPP's Central Executive Committee is scheduled to discuss and pass the resolution on Thursday.
The proposal has received a mixed response from party members, with DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) saying that he supports passing the proposal but has problems with the content.
Chen is in Central America for a nine-day visit.
To protect Taiwan and prevent it from being incorporated by China, Chen said he was in favor of passing a resolution aimed at turning Taiwan into a more normal country.
On the "state affairs fund" case involving first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Chen said that it was an oxymoron to say that the president's "state affairs fund" was not a special allowance because the president was the country's first government official receiving such funds.
Regarding the Olympic torch, Chen said that the best-case scenario would be to see the torch come to Taiwan while the nation's sovereignty is upheld. As the matter is still being negotiated, Chen said his stance was clear: He cannot accept having the Olympic torch come to Taiwan at the expense of the country's sovereignty.
Chen, said that the presidential election will be a competition between the "sincere Taiwan twosome" and the "one China duo."
It will also be a choice between "two five stars" and "one four star," citing an assessment in Global Views (遠見雜誌) magazine in 2005.
The Chinese-language business monthly gave Hsieh a five-star rating for his performance as Kaohsiung mayor and former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Hsieh's running mate, five stars for his performance during his term as Taipei County commissioner. Ma received four stars for his performance as Taipei mayor.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
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