Representatives of the DPP's legislative caucus ambushed Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (唐飛) in his office yesterday, but managed to extract little more from the former career soldier than a commitment to "think hard" about his intended retirement when the new administration takes power.
DPP legislative caucus leader Cheng Po-ching (
Cheng made the remarks after leading caucus members to visit the minister in his office yesterday morning.
Li Ching-hsiung (李慶雄), another DPP lawmaker on the visit, said Tang had been impressed when told that he was the only member of the incumbent Cabinet who President-elect Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) wants to retain.
"Tang did not say whether he will stay. But he promised to think it over from various perspectives, including the fact that he is a member of the KMT," Li said.
"The main reason for us to visit Tang is that there have been signs of instability in the military following Chen's election victory. We hope Tang will give us a helping hand," Li said. "We believe with his reputation in the military, Tang can help us maintain stability in the armed forces. We want a peaceful transfer of power."
The DPP also wants Tang to help the new government accomplish a structural reform of the military, as mandated by the Defense Law and Organizational Law for Ministry of National Defense, which was passed in the last session of the legislature in February, DPP lawmaker Tsai Ming-hsien (蔡明憲) said.
Ministry officials declined to comment on the matter, saying Tang has made it quite clear that he is ready to retire. They also rejected media reports that Chief of the General Staff Tang Yao-ming (湯曜明) is interested in taking over.
Military spokesman Kung Fan-ding (
A high-ranking defense official who declined to be identified said no one knows whether Tang Fei is interested in the job, but that if General Tang takes over, it will have to result in a large-scale personnel reshuffle at the top of the military.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS