Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma said Hsieh was making an issue out of nothing and stressed that the KMT would respect the president's decision on appointing a premier.
"I already said that the so-called `CEO premier' is a non-issue and the DPP has to put an end to that issue. The KMT did not agree to the idea, nor did we reject it," Ma said after attending a ceremony to launch a supporters' group for his campaign in Taipei.
Hsieh on Friday criticized the KMT for rejecting his idea of selecting a CEO as premier, arguing that his proposal was pointless unless it had the support of the KMT.
"The KMT's stance on the matter has been consistent. The appointment of the new Cabinet, or the `caretaker Cabinet,' is the DPP's decision. We respect the president's decision as long as the Cabinet functions well under the Constitution," Ma said.
After President Chen Shui-bian (
Wang said the Constitution did not stipulate when a Cabinet should resign and said that having to replace the Cabinet at this juncture would complicate administration and harm social stability, since the Cabinet will have to resign again before the presidential inauguration in May.
It has become an established procedure for the premier to lead the Cabinet in resigning before a new legislature is sworn in.
The tradition dates back to when Cabinet appointments required legislative approval. That approval was, however, done away with in a 1997 constitutional amendment.
Wang also echoed Ma's criticism of the CEO premier idea, accusing the DPP of cooking up the proposal to "manipulate the election."
"The right to form the Cabinet belongs to the president and it's unnecessary to consult the KMT," he said.
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
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai