The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday said they would cosponsor a conference next month on consolidating public opinion on national affairs.
The two parties yesterday held a preparatory meeting for the 2009 Taiwan Civil National Affairs Conference to be held on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told a press conference that since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office in May, his government had carried out many policies that were eroding the nation’s sovereignty, economy, democracy and human rights.
Taiwan faces its most serious challenges in decades, Tsai said, but the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) with its authoritarian past refuses to listen to public opinion.
Tsai said the two parties would use the conference to give the public a chance to voice their opinions.
The conference could help monitor the government by highlighting public concerns, she said. Central government officials will also be invited.
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) said the KMT government had done only two things since returning to power — seeking a return to the authoritarian system of the 1970s and yielding to China on cross-strait issues.
Academia Sinica research fellow Chiu Hei-yuan (瞿海源), one of the program committee members for the conference, said he expected to attend the conference with a heavy heart.
The KMT’s “new party-state system” had jeopardized society, the economy and democracy, Chiu said, adding that democratic politics was party politics and that the conference aims to use the power of opposition parties to impose checks and balances on the ruling party.
Yesterday’s meeting reached an agreement that the conference would seek to propose a basic direction for Taiwan’s society and offer a blueprint for the next five to 10 years in the nation’s development.
The conference would put pressure on the government by airing the public’s wishes — in particular by prioritizing policies that would help disadvantaged groups, the parties said.
The DPP and TSU will invite researchers and academics from think tanks and universities, lawmakers and representatives of political parties, as well as experts in various fields.
The program committee members include Chiu, Soochow University political science professor Hawang Shiow-duan (黃秀端), former national policy adviser Huang Tien-lin (黃天麟), Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association president Hwang Kun-hu (黃崑虎), former Taiwan Stock Exchange chairman Wu Rong-i (吳榮義), Taiwan Society chairman Wu Shuh-min (吳樹民), Taiwan Thinktank chairman Chen Po-chih (陳博志), Taiwan New Century Foundation chairman Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志) and others.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS