In the face of the losses suffered by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in last Saturday's legislative elections, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said he would take a moderate attitude in terms of a government reshuffle and would seek to negotiate and cooperate with the opposition camp.
"With the greatest sincerity, I hope the government and the opposition can find some common ground on which we can base joint efforts to devote ourselves to our beloved Taiwan and the democracy and justice that we cherish," Chen said yesterday morning at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport upon his return from a five-day trip to allies Guatemala and Saint Lucia.
Even though he embarked on his overseas trip a day after last Saturday's elections, Chen said he has been thinking over the past few days about how to advance national security, social justice, the nation's development and the public good now that the election was over.
"The government team I lead will have a more modest, cautious, pragmatic and responsible attitude to everything," Chen said.
Commenting on Chen's remarks, DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said:"The public would be happy to see the government and the opposition solving any problems through negotiation, but actions speaker louder than words."
During a stopover at Anchorage International Airport in Alaska on his way home, Chen was greeted by Robert Wang (王曉岷), the deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Taipei Office and US Senator Lisa Murkowski.
At a press conference at the airport, Chen said that the new single-district, two vote system had been a big factor in the election results and showed the need to adjust the Constitution and the electoral and referendum laws so that public opinion would be fully reflected in future elections.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS