Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday called for reform to the presidential adviser selection system, saying the system has been marred by controversy and is limited in function.
"The presidential adviser system was established by the previous regime. But the advisers' functions are limited and [the existence of the system] has been controversial. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to call for reform to the system," Lu said.
Lu made the remarks in response to a question about whether the list of presidential advisers released on Friday represents President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) reconciliation with the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) "deep greens," a group which lashed out at Chen when Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) made visits to China.
PHOTO: CNA
Instead of answering the question directly, the vice president called for a reform to the system.
To show her appreciation of nature, Lu yesterday held a press conference at Wuling Farm in Hsueh-pa National Park.
Lu also expressed regret over the bill passed in the legislature on Friday which requires the National Assembly to ratify amendments by a three-quarters majority vote. The law also allow the National Assembly members to abstain from a vote.
"In [last Saturday's] election, 83 percent of voters backed parties that support the constitutional amendment package, translating to 249 seats in the National Assembly. Supposedly the constitutional amendments would pass without the need to convene the National Assembly," Lu said.
Not only does the law governing the functions of the National Assembly require a three-quarters majority of votes, it also allows representatives to abstain, a move that the vice president was made "in bad faith."
Lu also said the legislature had turned the National Assembly elections into a joke by passing the law.
"What if some National Assembly representatives who were supposed to vote for the amendments abstain from voting? Should they still get paid?" she said.
When asked to comment on the possibility for a meeting between President Chen and Chinese President Hu Jintao (
Since China has made the "one China" principle a precondition for cross-strait negotiations, and only those Taiwanese politicians who denounce independence are interested in talks with Beijing. Lu said the chance for a Chen-Hu meeting was slim.
"We should not jump to any conclusion before 2008," Lu said, adding that cross-strait issues not only concern Taiwan and China, but also the US.
"As Chen and [US President George W.] Bush are to complete their terms in office in 2008 and China will hold the 2008 Olympic Games that year, there may be a chance for a breakthrough in cross-strait relations," Lu said.
When asked about her teaming up with Shin Kong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital deputy superintendent Huang Fang-yen (黃芳彥) to run in the 2008 presidential election, Lu said she may do so, but only under the DPP banner.
Lu said she was surprised that First Lady Wu Shu-chen (吳淑珍) had made such a prediction while she was in the US.
"[Wu] might think that since the DPP won't nominate me as the presidential candidate in 2008, I would therefore quit the party. I can tell you all I will not leave the party," the vice president said.
Lu spent her second day at Wuling Farm planting a cherry blossom trees and sightseeing. The vice president has been active in promoting the farm's upcoming cherry blossom festival.
"Instead of going to Japan to see cherry blossoms, let's come back here to enjoy the spectacular view when all these trees begin to blossom," Lu said.
An essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) might have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. “In this case, the partner organization is clearly an agency under the CCP’s Fujian Provincial Committee,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “It also involves bringing Taiwanese students to China with all-expenses-paid arrangements to attend award ceremonies and camps,” Liang said. Those two “characteristics” are typically sufficient
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS