To prepare for the possibility of a "two-party" system after the year-end elections, the DPP yesterday held the first of a series of debates on whether an alliance would be beneficial to the party.
There has been talk recently in political circles of an alliance forming between former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), creating the so-called Lee-Bian alliance.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
In addition, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
DPP members met yesterday to debate potential outcomes of an alliance with Lee and the possibility that Taiwan politics may be headed for a political arrangement that resembles a two-party system.
Members of the pro-alliance debate team included party Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), central standing committee member Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) and legislator Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰).
Debating the negative side were legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (
In yesterday's discussion, which was held behind closed doors, Kuo said that he believed there would be three disadvantages to the DPP should politics split into Lee-Bian and Lien-Soong camps.
First, pro-Lee candidates could siphon away DPP votes, hurting the party's candidates.
Second, Kuo said, a Lee-Bian alliance would limit the party's ability to align with other opposition parties, as everyone else would have chosen sides after the elections.
Third, a Lee-Bian alliance could intensify ethnic and ideological confrontation in Taiwan -- such as the issues of Taiwan independence and unification with China -- to the party's disadvantage.
In support of Kuo's view, Shen said the party should not take the risk of asking voters to take sides because they might not choose the DPP, adding they risked losing their middle-of-the-road supporters.
But Cho, speaking on the pro side, said "the DPP would likely win an absolute majority to maintain political stability if two major political alliances, not necessarily two parties, have been forged."
He said that the party, before the year-end elections, should clearly declare whom it wants to become a partner with or cooperate with.
Cho also urged the DPP not to overemphasize the pro-Taiwan angle.
Instead, he said the party's record on "black gold" politics should be stressed in order to differentiate the DPP from Lien and Soong.
The DPP plans to hold five more discussions to debate topics. These are to cover partisan confrontation, the DPP government's achievements and faults, the timetable for implementation of the three major links and also the current economic downturn.
Conclusions drawn from the debates will be prepared as reference materials for DPP officials who are invited to attend call-in shows and defend the party's policies.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College