People First Party (PFP) Legislator Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) yesterday announced in an official press release that she was determined to become the new deputy legislative speaker. Her move drew renewed attention to conflicts in the pan-blue camp.
Shen is a senior lawmaker who has chalked up five terms in office, and has been re-elected for a sixth. She has been enthusiastically seeking support for her campaign ever since the legislative elections, although she had not officially announced her intention to become deputy legislative speaker until now.
Her statement yesterday was unusual, since it has long been rumored that PFP Chairman James Soong (
"The majority in the new legislature consists of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the PFP, and the New Party, and not just the KMT. So the three parties should respect and work with each other," the statement said.
"Cooperation on the speakership and deputy speakership would be the first thing that cooperation between the KMT, PFP and New Party should achieve," the statement said.
"Shen Chih-hwei has won her sixth term, and she is firm about running for the deputy speakership. The KMT should not ask the PFP to concede the deputy speakership to the KMT, because this is unfair to the PFP's many talented people," the statement said.
Shen said that she had received Soong's approval before starting her campaign, and that she had verified with the party's top officials that they had never promised to leave the deputy speakership to the KMT.
Shen also made it very clear that the PFP and the KMT would work together over the next three years, but that a merger would be out of the question.
But PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (
Liu has criticized her campaign in the past, although without explicitly naming Shen.
He has said that no PFP legislator should attempt campaigning for the speakership or deputy speakership before the party has reached a decision.
"Her effort is one thing, but the party's decision is another. This is her own personal behavior," Liu said when asked about whether Shen's statement was in line with party policy.
"I can only say that no matter what happens, she should act elegantly. If she wins, she should take the deputy speakership with elegance, but if not, she should accept it with elegance too," Liu said.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS