The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-People First Party (PFP) alliance's decision on Monday to back away from its threat to boycott President Chen Shui-bian's (
In a joint statement issued on Monday following a meeting attended by pan-blue mayors and county commissioners, the pan-blues adopted a less confrontational strategy, saying nothing about a possible boycott, but demanding that the central government observe the legal process for holding a defensive referendum.
The meeting, led by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰), PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and the New Party's Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明), had a primary agenda of reaching consensus on the pan-blue camp's response to Chen's proposed referendum questions.
Tseng Yung-chuan (
Pan-blue hardliners had been vocal in their disapproval since Chen on Jan. 16 unveiled the two questions that will be put to voters in Taiwan's first ever referendum on March 20 alongside the presidential election. They said that they would go all-out to prevent the referendum from being held.
Chen proposes asking the people of Taiwan whether they would support enhancing the nation's defense capabilities should China refuse to withdraw the missiles targeted at Taiwan and renounce the use of force, as well as whether the government should hold talks with China on cross-strait peace and stability.
Branding Chen's announced referendum questions "illegal and unnecessary," pan-blue members such as Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
While some echoed Ma's calls and said that they would not cooperate with the government on holding the referendum, more moderate pan-blue members described Ma's proposals as inappropriate. The moderates felt the pan-blues should soften their stance.
Despite questioning the legality of Chen's proposed referendum questions, Peng-hu County Commissioner Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) said he disagreed with Ma's idea of boycotting the referendum. "Doing so would result in the pan-blue camp being branded anti-democratic and anti-reform."
Lienchiang County Commissioner Chen Shue-sheng (陳雪生) said that currently the plan of refusing to pick up ballots is not an option, but that it could be considered in future if it turned out that holding the referendum would be detrimental to Lien's electoral outlook.
Statements KMT legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) made following the meeting -- that topics relating to the rejection of the referendum or refusing to pick up ballots had not been discussed -- suggested that the moderates had won out over the hardliners.
Despite the softer stance expressed in the pan-blue local chiefs' joint statement, Ma, who doubles as manager of the alliance's national campaign headquarters, yesterday remained firm in his opposition to Chen's proposal.
"[Chen's proposed] referendum is illegal. If the Executive Yuan insists on holding the referendum, the local governments which go along with it would be considered accomplices," Ma said.
Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強), who has lately adopted a some-what ambiguous relationship with the pan-green camp, appeared less confrontational, but said the Cabinet must convince the voters why the referendum is necessary.
The pan-blue local chiefs might be willing to cooperate if the presidential and referendum polls are held separately, Hu said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
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