While PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) said on Friday that he is willing to settle for acting as a chief inter-governmental coordinator instead of premier, the DPP yesterday dismissed Soong's proposal as a power grab.
Soong said that he doesn't necessarily need to assume the job of premier to serve the country, but he is willing to act as a chief inter-governmental coordinator to bridge differences between the administrative and legislative branches should the pan-blue alliance win next year's presidential election.
In an interview with a cable television station last Friday, Soong admitted publicly for the first time that he and KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
Soong said the offer was suggested by Control Yuan President Wang Tso-jung (
Soong said he understands the pitfalls of taking on the two jobs.
"I have never asked for the premiership from Lien or the KMT, because I well understand it is a controversy in the Constitution to serve concurrently as vice president and premier," he said.
"Furthermore, I believe that as long as detailed and proper coordination is carried out before the implementation of policies, any difficult task can be solved."
The DPP said that Soong's proposal of being a chief coordinator showed his desire to dominate the pan-blue alliance.
DPP Vice Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) said there is no job of chief coordinator outlined in the Constitution and that such a term created by Soong conforms to neither the Cabinet system nor the presidential system.
"It is just a James Soong system, which overrides the power of the president," Lee said.
DPP legislative caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) yesterday said that, according to Article 44, Chapter Four, of the Constitution, the president may call a meeting to consult with the presidents of the five branches of government in the event of disputes between two or more of the branches.
"Therefore, the authority to coordinate the operation between the government's administrative and legislative departments rests with the president. The vice president is simply a back-up national leader," Chen said.
"Soong's intention to serve as chief inter-governmental coordinator is inconsistent with the Constitution and would virtually turn the country into a vice-presidential system," Chen said.
Reacting to the DPP's criticism, PFP spokesperson Huang Yih-jiau (
"Furthermore, if the vice president can act under the authorization of the president to perform his good coordination skills, which shows his dedication to contribute to the country, why not let him?" Huang said.
Huang said only when the government's system adheres to the political party system can the administration bring out its best performance and thereby live up to public expectations.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
The Taipei Zoo on Saturday said it would pursue legal action against a man who was filmed climbing over a railing to tease and feed spotted hyenas in their enclosure earlier that day. In videos uploaded to social media on Saturday, a man can be seen climbing over a protective railing and approaching a ledge above the zoo’s spotted hyena enclosure, before dropping unidentified objects down to two of the animals. The Taipei Zoo in a statement said the man’s actions were “extremely inappropriate and even illegal.” In addition to monitoring the hyenas’ health, the zoo would collect evidence provided by the public
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
A road safety advocacy group yesterday called for reforms to the driver licensing and retraining system after a pedestrian was killed and 15 other people were injured in a two-bus collision in Taipei. “Taiwan’s driver’s licenses are among the easiest to obtain in the world, and there is no mandatory retraining system for drivers,” Taiwan Vision Zero Alliance, a group pushing to reduce pedestrian fatalities, said in a news release. Under the regulations, people who have held a standard car driver’s license for two years and have completed a driver training course are eligible to take a test