Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
"I can't continue to push for [the CEO plan] anymore because the KMT has spoken against it," Hsieh said when approached by the press for comment during his visit to Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀), chairman of AU Optronics Corp (友達光電).
Last week, Hsieh suggested to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) that he should negotiate with the KMT, which will hold a two-third majority in the new legislature following its Jan. 12 electoral victory, on selecting a CEO as premier.
He said the suggestion was made out of concern for "political continuity."
"If the KMT had accepted the CEO plan, we wouldn't see another appointment of a new premier three months from now [after the May 20 presidential inauguration], regardless of who wins the presidential election," Hsieh said.
Hsieh said yesterday that his CEO proposal was "meaningless" without the KMT's support and participation, adding that "no CEO would accept a three-month premier position."
"Moreover, it would be a very tough three-months for any CEO [in terms of interacting with the legislature]," Hsieh said.
"The CEO idea should stop here because now that the KMT has rejected talks on the matter, any entrepreneur nominated would face a KMT boycott," he said.
Responding to KMT criticism that the DPP had never asked it for opinions about Cabinet appointments during its seven years of administration, Hsieh said: "That was because that the KMT was not the single largest party in the legislature."
The KMT refused to discuss appointments for the new Cabinet during a meeting between KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (
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a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive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