Government officials and DPP lawmakers yesterday dismissed speculation that the ruling party is secretly launching the "cross-party alliance for national stabilization," despite signs that suggest otherwise.
Tsai Huang-liang (
The "cross-party alliance for national stabilization" was initiated by President Chen during the run-up to last year's legislative elections.
The proposed alliance would consist of a group of 120 lawmakers that would support the government's policy initiatives and follow four objectives set down by the president.
According to Chen, the four objectives are: switching to a single-member district, two-vote electoral system; opposing "one country, two systems"; implementing the 322 points of agreement reached at the Economic Development Advisory Conference; and implementing national social-welfare policies.
However the alliance has not come into being due to opposition from the KMT and PFP.
Speculation is mounting that the DPP has been making efforts to lure lawmakers across party lines in a bid to initiate the proposed alliance.
On Feb. 1, PFP lawmaker Chiu Chuang-liang (邱創良) took his party by surprise when he announced he was quitting the party on the day of the legislative speaker and vice speaker elections.
He also announced he would vote for the DPP's candidate for the vice speakership, Hong Chi-chang (
Chiu claimed that he was disappointed with the PFP's discrimination against Taiwanese party members, despite its claim of embracing ethnic unity.
Hong lost the race with 106 votes compared with 115 for the KMT's Chiang Ping-kung (
The second round was necessary because neither candidate managed to win an outright majority in the first vote.
On Feb. 22, KMT lawmaker Yang Jen-fu (楊仁福) announced he was withdrawing from KMT legislative operations after his request to join the legislature's economics and energy committee was denied.
He also accused KMT legislative whip Lin Yi-shih (
Eight-term KMT lawmaker Hung Chao-nan (
The position became vacant after Hong Yuh-chin (
Hung, who has served as a deputy executive director of the committee for many years, has expressed a keen interest in taking over as the executive director.
Instead of appointing Hung to succeed Hong, however, the party offered the position to Tseng Yung-chuan (
Independent lawmaker Kao Meng-ting (
But Yao Chia-wen (
"But it doesn't necessarily mean that the alliance will not be formed in the future if the DPP enjoys a pleasant and steady cooperative relationship with other legislative caucuses on certain issues," he said.
Tsai, a former chief executive of the DPP legislative caucus and a member of the party's Justice Alliance (正義連線) faction founded by the president, said that the DPP caucus is indeed offering certain incentives to lure lawmakers across party lines to either join the party caucus or participate in party operations.
"Since we don't have many resources available, the only thing we can offer is that they'll get priority nomination should they join the DPP caucus," Tsai said.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights