DPP legislative whip Lin Feng-hsi (
"There will be more and all of them have to be upright and decent candidates. A list of names will be made public after the elections," Lin told reporters yesterday, adding that these would-be legislators would not necessarily join the DPP after the coalition is formed.
Lin's remarks followed earlier comments by DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), who said that the party would later pick a coalition partner depending on each party's election performance.
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday called for politicians from across party lines to endorse the implementation of legislative reforms after the Dec. 1 elections.
He urged all legislative candidates to sign the party's endorsement papers, thus pledging their future support for pushing legislative reforms.
`Sunshine policy'
The reform plan, which was proposed by the DPP yesterday, calls for cutting the 225-member legislature by half, changing the nation's electoral method to a single-member-district/two-vote system and setting out "sunshine policy" laws in order to officially monitor party and elected officials' assets.
"The purpose [of the endorsement signatures] is to carry out the principles of party politics. If [candidates] fail to put down their names on the endorsement list before the elections, then it won't be easy to ask them to live up to their promises after getting elected," Hsieh said.
He added that some legislators have rejected the legislative reforms, although the DPP has proposed 30 bills and the KMT has proposed nine bills to facilitate the reforms.
Throwing their support behind the party's move, nine DPP legislative candidates running in Taipei City, including Lo Wen-chia (
Meanwhile, KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday reaffirmed the party's claim that the party winning the majority of legislative seats -- or a majority alliance -- should lead the formation of the Cabinet after the Dec.1 elections.
Lien said the KMT would not rule out the possibility of allying with any political party if it remained the largest party after the elections, though he said it is easier for like-minded parties to create alliances.
But the KMT would in any case only discuss the matter after the elections and would insist that any such cooperation plan be established through party-to-party negotiations, Lien said.
"We won't rule out any possibility with respect to this question. Party-to-party negotiations will be a necessary step," Lien said, when questioned by reporters during a campaign tour in Taichung.
Lien, however, suggested that the new Cabinet should be formed according to the constitutional framework -- rather than one person's choice -- after the elections.
He dismissed the DPP's claim that the president has the "indirect power to form the Cabinet" as being unconstitutional.
"Politics should be based on the idea of majority rule," Lien said. "If the DPP continues to lead a minority government, it will be like taking the people's political power hostage, which will be unconstitutional," Lien said.
Strict examination
Lien said the Dec. 1 legislative and local government elections are typical of interim elections usually seen in democratic countries. He said it is in these elections where the ruling party will face a strict examination by the electorate.
Lien argues that this is especially true for the DPP, who, halfway through its rule, has "led" the nation's economy into a severe recession.
He urged the DPP to respect the majority opinion as it will be expressed in the Dec. 1 polls, saying the opposition would otherwise assume its "constitutional responsibility."
Though Lien would not elaborate on what this "responsibility" entails, it is widely believed to mean the instigation of a no-confidence vote against the premier.
Lien's remarks came as the possibility of post-election coalitions has again become a hot issue, following a recent proposal by two "pro-localization" KMT legislative candidates that the KMT should form a coalition Cabinet with the DPP, instead of with the PFP -- to ensure political stability and the KMT's continued development.
This proposal has also fueled speculation that a struggle over the party's policies could erupt within the KMT after the elections -- which may lead to certain KMT politicians defecting to the DPP.
Chao Shou-po (
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
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