An integration of government and party leaderships would create a better mechanism for political and administrative operations, ruling DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (
Wu said he personally favors an integrated government and party leadership, which he described as a "more workable system for smoother operations between the administrative and the legislative branches."
Wu made the remarks during a brief visit at his office by former Keelung Mayor Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), who recently declared that he will run for the chairmanship of the DPP.
Lee asked Wu about the veracity of allegations that the DPP would push for the election of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as the next chairman of the DPP.
Meanwhile, Ke Chien-ming (柯建銘), a DPP party whip at the Legislative Yuan, said it is still too early to speculate on whether President Chen should be elected DPP chairman.
Ke, nevertheless, added that President Chen, two years into his presidency, should bear in mind one of his campaign promises of not leading the nation as a party leader "to avoid having his election check bounce."
Wang Tuo (王拓), another DPP legislator, said that as far as he knows, the party's lawmakers harbor mixed opinions about DPP reform and the issue of the president doubling as party chairman.
Wang said all party members should be given the opportunity, through debate, to make known their positions on the issue.
At another joint meeting at the Legislative Yuan, Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
Noting that it was a question he could not answer by himself, Yu said the interior ministry would convene a public hearing in one month to discuss the issue.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry