People First Party (PFP) lawmakers yesterday urged Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), who announced on Saturday that he would quit politics, to change his mind.
"It would be a loss to Taiwan and the Taiwanese people if Soong were to leave politics," PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) told a press conference
Calling Soong "indispensable" to the country and the party, Deputy Legislative Speaker Chung Jung-chi (
Soong, running as an independent candidate, picked up a paltry 4.14 percent of the votes in Saturday's Taipei mayoral election and subsequently announced that he was quitting politics.
Chang Chao-hsiung (
Reconsider
A group of PFP lawmakers had a long talk with Chang yesterday morning, in a bid to urge him to reconsider his decision.
Chang, however, didn't give them a positive answer.
After visiting Soong at his house, PFP spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday said this was not an appropriate time to push Soong on the matter.
"I actually didn't talk to him too much [about our wish that he change his mind]. We should give him some time to take a rest for his emotions to subside," Lee said, adding that he saw little indication that Soong would reverse his decision.
The PFP had previously said that the party would form an alliance with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to nominate candidates for next year's legislative election and for other matters.
"[The alliance] is still the direction that we want, but the possibility of forming it depends on the KMT's attitude," PFP caucus whip Cheng Chin-ling (鄭金玲) said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) yesterday expressed regret over Soong's decision to bow out of the political limelight.
"I am sorry to see him end his political career. It will be a great loss to politics," Wang said, adding that he had asked one of Soong's aides to convey his regret over Soong's defeat on the night of the election.
Joining forces?
When asked whether he would be prepared to join forces with KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
While the PFP may disband if Soong sticks to his decision to quit politics, Wang said that he believed "Ma knows how to handle the relationship with the PFP and the PFP will adjust accordingly."
As the PFP secured two seats in Saturday's election for Taipei City councilors and four seats in the Kaohsiung City council polls, Wang said the party still stood a chance in next year's legislative election.
"No matter what decision the PFP will eventually make, the KMT must respect their free choice," he said.
Wang also said that he would arrange to meet with Ma in the next couple of days to discuss President Chen Shui-bian's (
Chen has said he would consider renominating the members if the KMT does not insist on increasing the legislative confirmation threshold from a simple majority to two-thirds.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we