Hsieh to make public appearance Friday: aides

Hsieh’s core aides noted that after holding the press conference to mark his reemergence into the public eye, Hsieh and his running mate, former Premier Su Tseng-chang, will jointly attend an activity in Taipei County, kicking off a new round of electioneering campaigns.

The close aides were quite concerned about the scheduled press conference, in that Lee Ying-yuan, the executive secretary general of Hsieh’s campaign office convened a meeting yesterday evening with other core aides, including Cho Rong-tai, deputy secretary general of the Presidential Office, and Lin Yao-wen, to discuss relevant details of the news conference.

Yesterday morning, Lee delivered a speech on behalf of Hsieh at the opening ceremony of the new learning session of the Kaitakelann Institute. Lee said that Hsieh was forced to take a rest for two weeks after catching a cold and having an unhealed angle sprain, stressing that Hsieh will appear again after President Chen Shui-bian assumes the chairmanship of the DPP.

Just two days ago, Hsieh posted taped footage showing himself on his own blog.

Hsieh’s withdrawal from the public scene is a protest against President Chen Shui-bian for denying him a free hand in the presidential election campaign.

But speculation is rife that Hsieh’s “malingering” is coming to an end as soon as Chen resumes the party leadership, succeeding Yu Shyi-kun who resigned after he had been indicted for corruption in late September.

On another front, President Chen is expected to announce his decision on whether to assume the chairmanship of the DPP at a press conference slated for 10:00 a.m. today, according to sources close to the Presidential Office.

The sources said that Chen divulged his intention during a meeting with a group of dignitaries from South Korea at the Presidential Office, saying that he will call a news conference before departing for the Marshall Islands for a summit with Taiwan’s South Pacific allies.

DPP sources said Cho Rong-tai, the deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office, is expected to exchange jobs with DPP Secretary General Lin Chia-lung in a shakeup after Chen takes over as DPP chairman.

The DPP requested through its Central Executive Committee that Chen take its helm Oct. 5 after Yu Shyi-kun stepped down from the chairmanship Sept. 27 following his Sept. 21 indictment on corruption charges.

In related news, President Chen will meet the leaders of six Pacific allies in a summit starting Friday to shore up support in its long-running battle with Beijing for diplomatic support.

The two-day summit in the Marshall Islands capital Majuro at a Taiwan-funded conference center follows last year’s inaugural summit in Palau amid moves by Taipei to prevent any defections of diplomatic support to Beijing.

Palau, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and Nauru represent a quarter of the 24 states worldwide which recognize Taiwan rather than China.

They are an important pillar in Taipei’s attempts to maintain a diplomatic toehold in international affairs and to regain recognition in international organizations.

The focus on the talks will be on health, fisheries, the environment, and cultural and economic cooperation issues.

Global warming — which threatens the existence of low-lying atoll nations in the Pacific including Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands — will be on the agenda.

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