In her New Year speech yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said her wish was to win the Jan. 14 presidential election and promised to turn Taiwan into a country where solidarity and justice prevail.
“My fellow countrymen, I wish you a happy new year on the first day of 2012. I would also like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere pledge to make Taiwan a country of solidarity and justice,” she said at a flag-raising ceremony in Greater Tainan.
A collective upward dynamic and cohesiveness are desperately needed in Taiwan as people have lost their hope for the future and their trust in any political promise in the past three-and-a-half years, during which the government has malfunctioned, she said.
Photo: CNA
That is why she is determined to win the presidential election so her administration would be able to strive to regain “a sense of direction, the strength to march forward and people’s trust in politics,” Tsai said.
“That is the responsibility of our generation. And every one of you will be able to play a crucial part in the change for the better,” Tsai said.
With the presidential race moving into the final two weeks before the election, Tsai has been trying to consolidate support for her candidacy with extensive visits to various parts of the nation.
Meanwhile, at a press conference yesterday, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who serves as Tsai’s campaign chairman and ran as vice presidential candidate in the DPP’s failed bid in the 2008 presidential election, submitted the “three urges of respect.”
These are a call on Beijing to respect Taiwan, on the government to respect the people and on voters to respect their own free will.
The presidential election is the highest form of demonstrating the people’s collective will, Su said in Taipei, and China should refrain from any interference in the democratic process or threaten use of force against Taiwan.
In the lead-up to the election, Beijing officials have issued a number of official comments that made no secret of their support for President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) re-election bid and have threatened that the stability of cross-strait relations could be undermined if the DPP were to re-enter the Presidential Office.
The government should respect its people by maintaining administrative neutrality and preventing the use of vote-buying, Su said.
Su also urged voters to respect their right to vote and say “no” to vote-buying to enable Taiwan’s democracy to deepen.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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