It is unlikely that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) will accept Premier Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) offer to discuss the possibility of KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Ping-kun (江丙坤) becoming Hsieh's second in command, the KMT said yesterday.
"I just came from talking to Chairman Lien. He knows about the offer and will consider and handle it," KMT Vice Chairman and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
Hsieh said in a radio interview yesterday afternoon that he was willing to meet with Lien to ask his help in convincing Chiang to fill the vice premier post. Although Hsieh has said that Chiang has already turned down the post of vice premier, the KMT discussed the possibility at its Central Standing meeting yesterday morning.
"The KMT has its own position on the matter [Hsieh's Cabinet nominations]. Chairman Lien himself cannot have a personal opinion in the matter," KMT Spokesman Chang Jung-kung (
"Our position has been that since the pan-blue camp won a majority in the year-end elections, the original party in the Cabinet should make room for the new representative party to form its own Cabinet. As of now, the formation of the new Cabinet has pretty much been completed; there is no way that a party can enter the executive. If any opposition figures are in the new Cabinet, they are joining as individuals, not as a party representative," Chang said yesterday.
If Chiang were to become part of the Hsieh Cabinet, it would be unlikely that he would be able to utilize his financial and economic know-how to help the nation, Chang said.
Chiang believes that the nation must expand its connections with China to improve its economic situation; it is unlikely that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration would support Chiang in this, Chang said.
In response to a question from reporters about whether Lien would accept or reject Hsieh's offer, Chang only answered that Lien has no say in the matter.
While the party's official stance seemed clear, not all party members held the same opinion at the KMT's Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday morning.
"If Hsieh interprets the procedures and suggestions given by the KMT in the same way as the KMT, then we can consider how to facilitate this [Chiang's nomination]," KMT Legislator and Central Standing Committee member Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) said.
In response to Hsieh's suggestion of a coalition Cabinet, acting DPP chairman Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said yesterday that the period from now until the legislative sessions start offers a golden opportunity for promoting political reconciliation and cooperation.
"The Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan and the DPP will endeavor to help promote political negotiation and cooperation with the opposition parties after the election of a legislative speaker," Ker said. "We are open to all kinds of issues in terms of reconciliation and collaboration, including the composition of the Cabinet and the nomination list of Control Yuan members."
Ker said that anything is possible in the new Cabinet, which needs only some fine-tuning.
He added that, as far as he knew, the new Cabinet will be formed in two phases.
"I think Hsieh's Cabinet will undergo another adjustment in ministerial members on May 20, the anniversary of the president's inauguration," Ker said.
"As for Lien's insistence that he wants a KMT Cabinet, I think we could settle this problem through inter-party negotiation," he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS