President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday remained noncommittal about whether he would take up the post of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman again, but said he would seriously consider it.
"I have 100 jin (
Chen said he could not do the job alone if he does decide to accept it.
"I need your help to carry the heavy load," he said. "So it will not become a burden."
Chen made the remarks in Taipei County yesterday morning.
On Wednesday, the DPP Central Standing Committee unanimously agreed to urge Chen to double as party chairman. The party will hold an extraordinary Central Executive Committee meeting today to make the nomination official.
Chen said that while some people have said the position of party chairman was a burden, he thought it was more appropriate to describe it as a responsibility.
"It is not an easy job," he said. "If it were, former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (
Koo, a supporter of outgoing DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, is strongly opposed to Chen's resuming the post.
He has said Yu should stay on so that Chen will not have one more burden to carry.
Yu resigned over the controversy surrounding the DPP's "normal country resolution," which was passed by the party's national congress last Sunday.
Yu wanted more explicit rhetoric than what was used in the version that passed.
Chen yesterday urged Koo to use his influence to talk Yu out of quitting.
There is still hope of asking Yu to stay during today's Central Executive Committee meeting, Chen said.
Yu, however, said yesterday that he would not change his mind.
"I am determined, and I've said it clearly. I have issued my written statement. It is my political promise," he said while meeting with pro-independence political commentator Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖).
Yu reiterated his support for Chen to replace him.
He also promised to continue pushing for the normalization of Taiwan as a country.
But he dismissed allegations that he would join January's legislative elections as a legislator-at-large candidate.
"I will focus my efforts on fighting for the party's victory in next year's elections," he said.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS