Following in the footsteps of KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday accepted an invitation to join a demonstration of farmers and fishermen scheduled for Nov. 23.
Also, Soong said the PFP is ready to form a supra-partisan "rescue Taiwan alliance" that will gather the elite of different political affiliations to try and oust the DPP from power in 2004.
Soong said he will speak up for farmers and fishermen, because the DPP has not only ignored their interests but is also trying to "eliminate farmers' and fishermen's associations under the pretense of financial reform."
"Farmers were the ones who laid the foundation of Taiwan's economic miracle in the past. The DPP should not negate the contribution of farmers' and fishermen's associations," Soong said.
Though former president Lee Teng-hui (
While approximately 70 percent of the profit of credit cooperatives of farmers' associations are spent on promoting agricultural development, the DPP has painted the associations as a source of "black-gold" politics in Taiwan, Soong said.
Soong further criticized the DPP for its incompetence and inefficiency over the past two-and-a-half years in power, which he said has triggered a "lame duck" effect.
"The country is virtually in anarchy. We don't have a president now, but only a presidential candidate. We don't have a government, but only a campaign headquarters," Soong said.
To support his argument, Soong cited a recent case in which the pro-independence-minded national policy adviser, Alice King (
Though Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) defended King in the legislature on Monday, saying that people should not equate the ROC flag with the country, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) affirmed on Tuesday that the "national flag and the name of the country" both symbolize the country.
"If the secretary-general of the Presidential Office does not represent the president, who then does he represent when he speaks in the legislature? Does the speech made by a national policy adviser hired by the president not represent the basic policy of the government?" Soong asked.
Soong said it is the most important thing for the leader of the government to present a clear policy for the country.
To prepare for the 2004 presidential race, Soong said, the PFP is ready to gather the elite of different political affiliations to form a "rescue Taiwan alliance."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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