Roughly 50 new members -- mostly top executive officials and members of the nation's social and intellectual elite -- will join the DPP tomorrow at a ceremony presided over by President and DPP Chairman Chen Shui-bian (
It will be the largest mass entry of elite into the DPP since the party was established in 1986. The party has approximately 400,000 members.
"It's a norm of party politics for political appointees designated by the ruling party to be its members," said lawmaker Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), director of the party's culture and information department.
But the director did not deny that the recruitment drive is intended in part to boost the image of the DPP after Chen took over the reins of the party last Sunday.
The DPP has been trying to increase its talent base by recruiting senior members of the government since May, when the party decided Chen would be its new chairman.
Along with professionals from academic, medical, law, business and high-tech circles, high-profile executives such as Deputy Secretary-General to the President Joseph Wu (
Wu told reporters yesterday that he was pleased to be invited to join the DPP because he has long agreed with the party's ideals. He considered joining the DPP as "a matter needed to be done."
Also on the list are Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Vice Chairman Chen Ming-tong (陳明通); Lin Te-fu (林德福), chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; Council for Cultural Affairs Vice Chairman Wu Mi-cha (吳密察); and Council of Labor Affairs Vice Chairman Kuo Chi-jen (郭吉仁).
Rejecting criticism that the recruitment drive will harm the objectivity of governmental departments, presidential officials stressed that targets of the effort were selective and they have respected the decisions of individual officials on whether they want to join the party.
They said officials serving in security departments such as the Ministry of National Defense and the National Security Bureau as well as finance departments including the central bank and Ministry of Finance were not invited because they need to stay politically neutral.
MAC Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (
Eugene Chien (
Chien was a KMT member until January last year, when he let his membership lapse.
Tchen Yu-chiou (
Kang Ning-hsiang (
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military