President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) cancelled all public activities yesterday but consulted influential figures of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) about future strategies, after his party was pummeled in Saturday's local government elections.
Since the DPP's setback, the public has been expecting Chen's response, and speculation has grown about a possible Cabinet reshuffle. However, the president has maintained a low profile since Saturday night.
Except for a press release from the Presidential Office late Saturday night expressing Chen's appreciation for the peaceful nature of the elections, he has made no public comment on Saturday's vote.
Yesterday morning, Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun received representatives of the "Top Ten Outstanding Young People in Taiwan in 2005" on behalf of Chen, who was originally scheduled to appear at the event.
Chen met with Vice President Annette Lu (
Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成) said yesterday that the president needs one or two more days to think over the situation.
"President Chen may not have an immediate answer [to questions regarding the election]. He also said it was not a good time to respond to the resignation proposed by Premier Hsieh," Ma said.
Ma said that Chen stayed home on Sunday reviewing the strategies adopted by the DPP and only discussed some key issues regarding politics and the economy with his key assistants. As for a possible Cabinet reshuffle, Ma said it may not take place in the immediate future.
"The important thing at this moment is to figure out better schemes [to govern the country]. After figuring out what to do, personnel issues will be considered," Ma said.
Ma also said that a planned second economic development advisory conference may be postponed to early next year in order to have sufficient time to prepare. Before the election, Chen said that the government would convene the conference this month.
The DPP, which previously controlled nine cities and counties -- won only six out of 23 city and county government chief posts in the elections.
Political observers have attributed the DPP's failure in the elections to recent scandals that hurt the party's image, and insufficient efforts to strengthen government functions. Su announced his resignation shortly after the electoral results came in. However, opposition parties have urged Chen to shoulder the responsibility, and are still waiting for his reaction.
also see story:
Chang not interested in chairmanship
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
The US House of Representatives yesterday unanimously passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders and their family members off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan. The bipartisan bill, which would also publish the assets of top Chinese leaders, was cosponsored by Republican US Representative French Hill, Democratic US Representative Brad Sherman and seven others. If the US president determines that a threat against Taiwan exists, the bill would require the US Department of the Treasury to report to Congress on funds held by certain members of the
RSS