After saying he was quitting politics for good when he resigned from the premiership in October 2000, former premier Tang Fei (
"I don't want to regret not doing something in my remaining years that I should have done," Tang, 75, told reporters yesterday.
He said he was motivated to form the association after seeing the rising number of people becoming disillusioned with politics and not exercising their right to vote over the past seven years.
Tang said he wished to get these unmotivated people back into politics and work with them to find a way out for the nation by holding open forums.
"I have been thinking of a middle road for the country that is free of the issue of unification [with China] and [Taiwanese] independence," he said. "I don't want to see the country dragged down by the problem of unification or independence and fail to make progress as other countries do."
The association would not be a political party that would nominate candidates for elections nor be pro-blue or pro-green, he said.
Tang, a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), was the first premier appointed by President Chen Shui-bian (
The appointment of Tang was a reflection of the DPP's attempt to cooperate with the KMT, but he resigned five months later after running into conflict with the DPP plan to halt construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
While the Chinese-language United Daily News reported yesterday that Tang was planning to invite critics Lung Ying-tai (
Commenting on Tang's move, KMT legislative caucus whip Hsu Shao-ping (
DPP legislative caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), on the other hand, questioned the association's chances of succeeding given the level of political confrontation that exists.
Vice President Annette Lu (
"He once served as the premier for about four months. It's great that he wants to do something for the country," she said. "I think everybody should also consider what they can do for the country."
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to