The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) yesterday withdrew its support for the pan-blue camp's plan to propose a third recall motion against President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
TSU caucus whip Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) told a press conference that the caucus would respect the president's promise that he would step down if first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) were found guilty.
Liao said the TSU would only support the new recall motion on the condition that "concrete evidence concerning corruption is presented," but he did not say if Taipei District Prosecutor Eric Chen's (陳瑞仁) indictment would be considered "concrete evidence."
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
He said the caucus would suggest that TSU headquarters "wait, listen and see" what the public response was before deciding the caucus' stance on the recall motion.
The decision was agreed upon unanimously after yesterday morning's caucus meeting, Liao said, but TSU Legislator Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) left the meeting before it ended.
She did not talk to reporters after leaving the meeting.
TSU Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (
However, yesterday afternoon TSU Taipei mayoral candidate Clara Chou (周玉蔻) held a joint press conference with Lai and voiced support for the recall motion.
Chou said that judging from Lee's recent remarks that "justice, morality, conscience and the concept of right or wrong were the best remedies for the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] and were the hope for Taiwan's society," the former president is actually in favor of the recall motion.
Chou urged DPP legislators to vote for the recall motion in the legislature and let the people decide whether Chen should resign. She announced that one of her campaign themes would be that she is "pro-recall motion."
Chou said TSU legislators Huang Chung-yung (黃宗源), David Huang (黃適卓) and Liao were the only three TSU caucus members who were "pro-Chen" instead of being "pro-Lee."
In response to Chou's comments, Shu said: "She is not a legislator or a member of the TSU's Central Executive Committee. Although she has her own campaign strategy, she cannot stand for the TSU's headquarters or Lee."
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,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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