Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun surprised no one yesterday when he announced his intention to run in the party primary for next year's presidential election.
Yu is the second of the DPP's four big guns to announce a presidential bid. Former premier Frank Hsieh (
Registration for the DPP primary will be open from March 5 to March 9. Party members will vote on presidential and legislative hopefuls on May 6, after which public opinion polls will be held. The party will announce its final candidates for the two elections on May 30.
Saying that he is the one who is "most capable of leading Taiwan forward," Yu made the announcement at a temple in his Ilan County hometown yesterday morning.
Yu said next year is important because it will be the time when the Taiwanese people have to decide whether to move forward or go backward, as the country faces a number of challenges, including globalization and China's economic rise.
At this important juncture, Yu said that the country needs a leader who "says what he means, is consistent and has a sense of propriety."
"Such a person has to stick to principles because they give the person faith and power," he said.
The next president has to insist on reform, know how to tackle the cross-strait impasse and react to internal and external crises with creative thinking, he said.
"I believe I am that person," he said.
The DPP boss said he would not rush to resolve the cross-strait issue or change his position, nor would he vacillate on issues. He described himself as the "one who upholds Taiwan's values."
When asked whether he would resign his party post to enter the primary, Yu said that although the party's election rules did not require him to do so, he would nonetheless ask for leave of absence after he begins campaigning.
He said he also needed time to think about a running mate.
Yu's announcement came after President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said on Wednesday that he had been disappointed that Yu had not yet announced his intention to run in the primary.
Yu returned to Taipei yesterday afternoon to visit former senior presidential adviser Wu Li-pei (吳澧培) and seek his support. Wu encouraged Yu to offer a clear discourse on important issues, particularly "Taiwan consciousness" and how to materialize it.
Other DPP figures seen as possible presidential aspirants were low key yesterday when asked about Yu's announcement.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) refused to comment, saying that she did not want to talk about the election during the Lunar New Year holiday.
She spent yesterday morning with the president, visiting temples in Keelung and paying respect to the late Keelung Mayor Hsu Tsai-li (許財利), who died last Wednesday of complications from chronic heart disease.
Meanwhile, Hsieh said that he was not surprised by Yu's decision and that it was a good thing to see many contenders in the primary.
"It shows the party has many great talents," Hsieh said. "I believe when there is competition, there is improvement."
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS