The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday settled on President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as the next party chairman.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), who presided over the meeting, told reporters that the committee agreed unanimously to urge the president to double as party chairman.
Yeh said the party would hold an extraordinary Central Executive Committee meeting tomorrow to make the nomination official.
DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the party had made its stance clear, adding it was inconceivable that the president would reject the nomination.
Chen, who resigned as party chairman on Dec. 15, 2004, after the party's defeat in the 2004 legislative elections, was urged to take the helm once more after chairman Yu Shyi-kun quit late on Monday night.
Yu had initially offered to resign after being indicted on Sept. 21 for allegedly misusing his special allowance fund, but said on Monday his disappointment at the party's moderate "Normal Country" Resolution was his reason for stepping down. The resolution was passed by the party's national congress on Sunday.
DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said last week that holding a by-election would be an unnecessary burden, given that Yu's term was almost finished.
DPP policy states that its presidential candidate automatically becomes party chairman if he or she wins the presidency. The chairman's term then ends when the presidential term expires.
Yu was elected chairman in a by-election held in January last year. The election was necessary because former chairman Su Tseng-chang (
Chen's presidential term ends on May 19 next year.
Earlier yesterday, a joint statement endorsed by 25 DPP chapter directors was submitted to Lin, expressing their view that the president should lead the party.
When approached by reporters before yesterday's committee meeting, Yeh said the statement reflected the opinion of the DPP's grassroots supporters.
"We have to admit that we are facing a problem. That is, the legislative and presidential elections are approaching," she said, describing the president as the "glue" to keep the party united.
In a related development, the committee also decided to establish a task force to push amendments to the Referendum Law (公投法).
The law stipulates that a referendum proposal requires the signatures of 83,000 people, or 0.5 percent of eligible voters, to be passed.
The signatures of 830,000 people, or 5 percent of eligible voters, are needed for a referendum to be held.
Lin said the party hopes to lower the two signature thresholds, adding that the upcoming elections have made such amendments possible. He made the remark after meeting Iap Phok-bun (
At a separate setting yesterday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’