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).
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS