The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday threatened to refer DPP presidential aspirants who continue to attack their competitors to the party's Central Disciplinary Committee for punishment.
DPP legislative caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (
"Once again, I would like to call for party unity, because this is our only party asset," he said. "We came to power because we were united, and we can only stay in office by sticking together. Therefore, I would like to urge everyone to consider the implications to the DPP's image when making comments."
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Showing reporters copies of the party's platform, Wang said that the caucus' action was based on Article 29 of the platform, which includes a clause stipulating that party members whose comments or behavior go against the platform or the party's resolutions or damage the party's reputation are subject to punishment.
When asked by reporters whether such a countermeasure would have any effect, given that the president's previous two calls for an end to the bickering between its presidential contenders seems to have been ignored, Wang said that the measure was "worth a try."
When approached for comment, DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (
In related news, Hsieh said yesterday that he believed President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would maintain impartiality during the DPP's presidential primary.
When asked to comment on a report in yesterday's Chinese-language United Daily News which quoted Hsieh's spokesman Lu Tien-lin (
"I believe what the president told me, rather than in hearsay," he said at a campaign event in Kaohsiung.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
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