President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday accepted the role of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman, promising to lead the party to victory in next year's legislative and presidential elections.
Chen also announced that Deputy Presidential Office Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) would swap positions.
Chen told a press conference that the DPP position was not an extension of his powers, but rather of his responsibility, adding that he would like to see those insisting on Taiwan-centered policies and pursuing social justice continue to serve the 23 million people of Taiwan.
Describing his second job as being a "carrier of a sedan chair," Chen said he and DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) would not have problems coordinating their efforts because he felt that Hsieh should decide on matters of campaign strategy.
"Those who help carry the sedan chair must not drive away its occupant," he said. "The sedan's occupant gives orders and tells the carriers where to go, while the carriers must warn the occupant about any dangers so he can decide where to go."
Chen called former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun irreplaceable, adding that it would be a pity if Yu did not participate in the campaign team.
Chen said that since he would be out of the country for four days, he had asked Cho to consult with Yu, Hsieh and his running mate Su Tseng-chang (
Chen said he hoped to recruit other talented people to work with the DPP and see outstanding legislators work for the party's goals.
Looking ahead, Chen said that the referendum on whether the nation should apply for UN membership under the name "Taiwan" would be the "goal and sole focal point" of the elections.
He said the Referendum Law (
With the DPP having reached the second phase of the application process for holding a referendum, Chen said that he hoped the referendum would be held alongside the presidential election on March 22.
Chen said that he did not think the Constitution would be amended or a new constitution enacted before March next year because the legislature had no plans to do so and because it would require approval of three quarters of the Legislative Yuan.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus ridiculed Chen for accepting the DPP chairmanship, saying that it would be easier for him to "embezzle" public funds once in control of both the DPP and the government.
At a separate press conference, KMT legislative whip Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) urged the president to reflect on his administrative performance over the past seven years as well as Standard & Poor's latest economic evaluation of the nation.
The ratings service gave Taiwan a negative outlook on Wednesday based on what is said were long-term problems, including cross-strait tensions. Of the Asia-Pacific countries rated in the report, only Taiwan and Fiji received negative ratings.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Intelligence agents have recorded 510,000 instances of “controversial information” being spread online by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so far this year, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report yesterday, as it warned of artificial intelligence (AI) being employed to generate destabilizing misinformation. The bureau submitted a written report to the Legislative Yuan in preparation for National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today. The CCP has been using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society by commenting on controversial issues such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investments in the
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘COMPREHENSIVE PLAN’: Lin Chia-lung said that the government was ready to talk about a variety of issues, including investment in and purchases from the US The National Stabilization Fund (NSF) yesterday announced that it would step in to staunch stock market losses for the ninth time in the nation’s history. An NSF board meeting, originally scheduled for Monday next week, was moved to yesterday after stocks plummeted in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 32 percent tariffs on Taiwan on Wednesday last week. Board members voted to support the stock market with the NT$500 billion (US$15.15 billion) fund, with injections of funds to begin as soon as today. The NSF in 2000 injected NT$120 billion to stabilize stocks, the most ever. The lowest amount it
RSS