President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was sworn in as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman yesterday, and vowed to lead the party to victory in next year's legislative and presidential elections. He also said he would help make the party's referendum proposals on UN membership and the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen party assets a success.
Yesterday marked a new beginning in the DPP's unification and a step toward victory, Chen said, adding that it was his duty to help perpetuate a government that would uphold Taiwan-centered consciousness, freedom, democracy and justice.
Chen said there were many difficulties ahead of next year's elections. He said he was confident the party would win as long as it was united and worked for the common interest of Taiwan.
He also said he believed the Taiwanese would continue to support the DPP and give it another chance to create a brighter future for the country.
As for his seven-month term as party chairman, Chen said that he wished heaven would bless Taiwan and that he would be successful in fighting for the Taiwanese.
His aspirations were simple, he said.
First, he would like to see DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his running mate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) win in March.
Second, he would like to see the DPP secure at least 50 seats in the January elections.
And third, Chen said that he hoped the party's referendum proposals on joining the UN and recovering the KMT's stolen assets would both succeed.
The March 22 election would be a showdown between "Taiwan's prosperity pairing" and the "one China duo," and a choice between "Taiwan-centered consciousness" and the "great China mentality," Chen said.
It was also a competition between a pair who had been a "five-star" mayor and county commissioner and one "four-star" mayor, he said.
The DPP must win at least 50 seats in the Jan. 12 election, including 15 legislator-at-large seats, he said.
Arguing that it is a democratic norm to hold referendums alongside elections, Chen said the DPP's referendum proposal on joining the UN under the name "Taiwan" was not initiated just for the presidential poll but for the happiness of the 23 million Taiwanese and national sovereignty.
As the DPP is in the second phase of a petition to make the proposal valid, Chen said he hoped the party would be able to collect 2 million signatures by the end of this month.
To reach that goal, the DPP will hold a series of events around the country, beginning today.
The party hopes to collect at least 100,000 signatures a day and reach the 1 million target in 10 days.
China is the main reason that Taiwan is excluded from the international body, Chen said, and the referendum proposal seeking UN membership is to "say no out loud to China's bullying behavior."
In other developments, the DPP's Central Standing Committee yesterday validated Chen's appointment of Su Tseng-chang as the party's honorary chief adviser and former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun as chief adviser.
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