The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) highest decision-making body yesterday promised to support the president, as he faces his third attempted recall motion initiated by the opposition parties.
The DPP approved a resolution opposing the recall, and also stated its support for President Chen Shui-bian (
At a press conference held following the party's weekly Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday afternoon, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the majority of the commitee members, including Premier Su Tseng-chang (
"Chen has shouldered his political responsibility and held himself to a standard higher than the party's disciplinary mechanism, as shown in his national address on Sunday," Yu said.
Yu was referring to the televised speech on Sunday during which Chen said he would step down if the first lady were found guilty.
Prosecutors said they had enough evidence to bring charges against Chen, but the president enjoys immunity from prosecution while in office.
Yu said Chen was applying "a higher standard" to himself, because promising to tender his resignation is much more serious than being expelled from the party.
But Yu said that if the president really stepped down after the first lady's trial, the party might also decide to punish him.
Since the party had decided to oppose the third recall motion, anyone who violates the resolution will be punished, Yu added.
Earlier in the day, Hsieh, who left early to deal with a cyber attack against his campaign Web site, told the press that although the party opposed the recall motion, dissident opinions are also respected.
Before the meeting started yesterday, DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) told the press that he still believed Chen should leave his post and focus on preparing for the trial.
"If [we consider] the president family, we should offer him suggestions out of our goodwill," Cheng said. "Although many people have different opinions, I still choose to come and voice mine. I believe this is the best for the DPP's image."
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) said the most important thing for the party now is for its members to project a united front in the face of the recall motion.
"If a consensus is reached, everyone please understand that the DPP certainly has to take a consistent attitude [toward Chen's case] during this difficult time," Gao said before the meeting began.
DPP Legislator William Lai (
Former DPP legislator Tuan Yi-kang (
Meanwhile, Chuang Yen (
Dressed in white, Chuang urged DPP's executive committee members to "follow their conscience" and expel the first lady, the president and the three indicted aides.
Chuang, however, was carried away by the police for violating the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法).
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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