Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (
Su told lawmakers that the DPP cannot afford to be divided with the National Assembly elections looming.
Since Chen said that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan's (連戰) words and deeds in China "did not violate the law" and that he held a positive attitude about Lien and People First Party (PFP) James Soong's (宋楚瑜) visits to China, DPP legislators are saying they have received many complaints from their constituents and that they did not know what course to take under Chen's leadership.
Chen commissioned Su to convene the forum with lawmakers to seek clarity.
Members of the factions in the DPP -- the New Tide, Welfare State and the Justice Alliance -- voiced their dissatisfaction to Su.
"The DPP is not a party that follows the pattern of one person alone having the final say. We always welcome all kinds of opinions. However, at this critical juncture, we can not afford disunion," Su said.
He added that it was urgent to improve the DPP's chances in the National Assembly elections in light of the party's declining support.
"I'm quite worried about the rapid change in the recent political situation," Su said.
"The recent `China fever' and Lien's and Soong's visits to China have caused confusion on social values, and the DPP also suffered a slump in support. It is the DPP's crisis. I believe each of you understand this. I hope you all could hang on and help boost the DPP's election momentum," Su said.
In response to questions about why Chen approved of the meeting between Lien and Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Su said that he had no idea about Chen's motivation, but speculated that Chen did not have many strategies for dealing with Hu either.
DPP caucus whip Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) said the caucus has resolved that it will invite Chen to attend a forum with it soon, and demanded that communication mechanisms between the Presidential Office, legislative caucus and party headquarters be improved.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS