The DPP is poised to have its first success on the diplomatic front since President Chen Shui-bian (
Hsiao Bi-khim (
She said there is a high chance the party will become a member because there has been very little objection from members of the executive committee.
The DPP has been an observer in the organization since 1993.
A global federation of liberal parties founded in Oxford in 1947, the group unites 84 political parties from 67 countries on six continents.
If the DPP obtains approval, it will become the third member party in Asia, following the Liberal Party of Sri Lanka and the Liberal Party of the Philippines.
The director noted the admission would be of tremendous significance for the DPP because it would become a world partner in promoting democracy, freedom and party politics.
Last year, President Chen was granted the Prize for Freedom by the association. But he was unable to receive the award in person after all 15 members of the EU refused to grant Chen a visa to attend the award ceremony.
First lady Wu Shu-chen (
Hsiao also said that in October the DPP will participate in a transatlantic dialogue meeting attended by members of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD) and the European Liberal Democrats and Reformers.
Held in Seoul and to be presided over by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the meeting is scheduled to focus on issues concerning corruption fighting and government transparency.
Chen was invited to attend, but a party official said Chen would not be able to attend the meeting due to his hectic schedule. The party is still deciding who will attend the conference on Chen's behalf.
Founded in 1993 to promote peace and economic prosperity in the Asia Pacific region, CALD has eight party members. Taiwan will be the host country for its annual meeting next year.
In related news, DPP Legislator Trong Chai (
The conference, scheduled for Jan. 7, is being sponsored by the Taiwan-USA Inter-Parliamentary Amity Association, a body in which the senior DPP lawmaker serves as president.
Chai has said the conference will provide an opportunity for lawmakers from different countries to map out a practical agenda for preserving regional stability and to cultivate diplomatic connections.
The lawmaker said he seeks to invite more than 300 lawmakers from the US, Europe and Asia to join the meeting.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
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