Despite the fact that he's not a die-hard pro-independence advocate, DPP lawmaker Chen Chung-hsin (
The move is widely seen as a gesture of goodwill toward China. Beijing has said it won't have any contact with the DPP unless the party alters its charter advocating independence for Taiwan.
Chen, an adherent to the "marching west" economic mantra, was one of 13 new appointees to receive posts within the DPP yesterday.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Downplaying his China views, Chen yesterday told reporters the party's China policies weren't likely to change significantly in the future.
"Since collective leadership is a well-established tradition within the party, it's impossible for me alone to change the party's China policy, which is a politically sensitive subject," Chen said.
Chang Chun-hsiung (
"His appointment has more to do with his expertise in Chinese affairs than with his faction affiliation," Chang said.
In addition to Chen Chung-hsin, freshman DPP lawmaker Duan Yi-kang (段宜康) also raised eyebrows yesterday after he declined the offer to become director of the party's youth development department.
Duan's office said a busy schedule prevented him from attending yesterday's press conference at which the new appointments were announced.
But sources said Duan refused to take the post because he's upset with the outgoing party chairman, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who had wanted the incumbent director of the youth development department, Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄), to become the deputy director.
A close aide to Duan told the Taipei Times that the speculation wasn't too far from the truth. "But I don't think it's wise to say anything about it now," the aide said.
Speculation is rife that DPP lawmaker Chiou Yi-ying (
"But no one has ever contacted me about this matter," she said.
In addition to who will become director of the youth development department, the candidate to head the party's information survey center also remains unclear.
The other 13 appointees include incumbent Deputy Secretary-General Michael You (游盈隆), who will stay on at his post and supervise communications, policy and opinion polls.
Former Keelung mayor and two-term DPP lawmaker Lee Chin-yung (
Legislator Luo Wen-jia (
Female lawmaker Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) will head the women's development department and former speaker of the Taiwan Provincial Consultative Council Peng Tien-fu (彭添富) will be appointed director of the ethnic affairs department.
Two-term lawmaker Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) will lead the social development department. Former director of the organizational development department Chang Yu-ren (張郁仁) will return to the post.
Chang's long-time assistant Chang Chih-chung (
Three-term DPP lawmaker Lin Cho-shui (
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS