As the DPP is set to adopt a proposed measure allowing the head of state to double as the party's chairman, party heavyweights who had originally opposed the idea expressed their support for the first time yesterday.
The party is scheduled to hold an extraordinary national congress on Saturday to decide whether to let the head of state serve concurrently as the party's chairman.
If the measure is approved by two thirds of the 386 assembly members, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) will become the new party chairman on May 26, when the party is scheduled to elect a new chairman.
"It's not really so important who becomes the next party chairman, as long as the individual is able come up with supplemental measures to help strengthen the operations of party affairs," said Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文), senior adviser to the president.
Yao, who has expressed a keen interest in running for chairman, defined "party affairs" as the party's ideals and stance on significant issues, partisan diplomacy, training of party members, partisan organization and communication and campaigning.
Yao told reporters before the DPP's weekly closed-door Central Standing Committee yesterday that he has informed the president of his ideas and will talk with him again in a few days about his proposals.
Yao had originally opposed the idea of having the head of state serve concurrently as the party chairman, saying the president may not have time for the two jobs.
Yen Chin-fu (顏錦福), who is also interested in making a third bid for the chairmanship, said that he has dropped the idea of running after meeting with Chen on Sunday.
"I now shift to support the president to serve concurrently as the party chairman, because he told me that he's willing to shoulder the responsibility of the party if the national assembly approves the proposal," Yen said.
Originally worried that Chen would be breaking his campaign promise of staying out of party affairs if he takes up the party helm, Yen said that he now understands that the president had a reason to make the promise.
"When he pledged to be a president of all the people, he had a reason. That is, he wanted to see then party chairman Lin I-hsiung (
In addition to championing the measure of having the head of state lead the party when the party is in power, DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
If approved, the Central Standing Committee would grow from 11 members to 15, while the Central Executive Committee would increase from 31 to 35.
The congress will consider Hsieh's proposals as well as other proposals filed by other party members.
After the meeting, which is estimated will last for three hours, Chen, Hsieh and Premier Yu Shyi-kun are scheduled to speak.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS