President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday attributed his re-election to an upsurge of "local awareness," saying that his "one country on each side" of the Taiwan Strait approach has become the mainstream view in Taiwanese society.
The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) next goal is to gain a majority of seats in the Legislative Yuan after the legislative elections at the end of the year, Chen said on Thursday in an interview with Japan's Daily Yomiuri newspaper. The interview was published yesterday.
"The opposition parties' continual protests since their failure in the presidential election will help the DPP to realize this goal," he was quoted as saying.
Chen said that a "Taiwanese awareness" means to "protect Taiwan against China" and that it was almost impossible for Tai-wanese to accept Beijing's "one country, two systems" policy, which has been proved to be a failure by events in Hong Kong.
He said that the Beijing leadership is extremely afraid that Taiwan's democratic development might further affect Hong Kong, as well as China itself.
Chen said his inauguration speech on May 20 will propose a new vision for cross-strait relations, based on the promises he made four years ago.
He also confirmed his intention to hold a national referendum in 2006 about passing a new constitution, which would be implemented in 2008.
The US government has expressed serious concerns about Chen's plans for a new constitution, which the foreign media has described as a concrete move toward Taiwanese independence. According to Chen, a new constitution would be an important mechanism to counter China's military threats.
He said that the new constitution would legislate a government with three branches, to replace the current five.
It would also expand presidential power and halve the number of legislative seats.
"The establishment of a new constitution is a reform for democracy, not a timetable for the independence of Taiwan," Chen told the Daily Yomiuri.
The newspaper said that Chen's next step on the road to constitutional reform would be to gain a DPP majority in the 225-seat Legislative Yuan.
On the subject of the election eve assassination attempt, Chen said that the incident was the result of many coincidences and accidental elements.
"I don't believe that the assassination attempt would have a negative effect on Taiwan's democracy," Chen said.
He urged the people of Taiwan to accept the result of the election and understand the importance of being united.
"Even if the difference between candidates is just one vote, the winner is still the winner. That is the real meaning of the democracy," Chen said.
In response to a question about the nation's first national referendum, which failed to get the required number of votes to make it valid, Chen said that the experience was still very successful.
"Many people thought that the referendum represented Taiwanese independence and would just lead to war and disaster, and these speculations have now been shown to be false," he said.
He said that holding the referendum had been a hard-won battle against China's threats and international criticism.
"I believe that referendums will gradually become part of common life," Chen said.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS