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.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
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Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
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