Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) visited Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday to clear up confusion over comments made about the premiership.
Both Ma and Wang later dismissed a media report carried in yesterday's evening paper saying that Ma had apologized for a "blunder" he had made.
Ma on Sunday said that Wang would be selected to head a new Cabinet. However, both Wang and the Presidential Office immediately denied Ma's comments.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
After his 90-minute meeting with Ma yesterday, Wang told reporters that President Chen Shui-bian (
Wang said he suggested to the president that Ma would make a good premier.
Ma told reporters that his sole intention in making the premiership issue public was to "protect" Wang, and insisted that it would require party-to-party talks.
He also said he would be happy to discuss the issue with the president.
Wang thanked Ma for making the effort to "protect" him and said that there was no communication problem between him and Ma.
Wang yesterday said a Cabinet reshuffle was one of the topics he discussed with the president on Saturday and that he had never considered taking up the job, nor did he want to.
"We first talked about the arms procurement plan, then about the confirmation of the president's selection of Control Yuan members and then cross-strait issues," Wang said. "We then talked about the Cabinet reshuffle and other important government bills."
When speaking about the government reorganization, Wang said the president has several options at hand, including retaining Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), appointing another DPP member as premier or recruiting an opposition member to head the administration.
As both the president and Ma have expressed a wish to speak to each other, Wang said that a meeting was necessary and that he was willing to act as a broker to make it possible.
Regarding the arms procurement plan, Ma has made it clear that he will let the KMT caucus handle the issue.
Wang yesterday said the party's arms procurement plan task force will make a recommendation to the caucus.
Wang yesterday also met with former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
Wang said Lien did not comment in detail on the issue, saying only "good."
Wang said he hopes to arrange a time to meet with People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
The KMT caucus yesterday acknowledged the Wang-Ma meeting, saying the two need to talk things over in a bid to resolve misunderstandings and ease tension.
Meanwhile, four DPP lawmakers yesterday said they were opposed to recruiting an opposition member to head the government and called on the president to continue reform.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
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