Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday became the new chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), easily beating his four opponents in a race that could have a major impact on the future direction of the party.
Su obtained 50.47 percent of the vote by 163,808 registered members, with former Tainan County commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) coming a distant second, with 21.02 percent.
The 64-year-old will serve as the DPP chairperson for the second time, after a brief stint between February and December 2005.
Photo: CNA
Su Tseng-chang, who was regarded as the front-runner from the outset, now has to live up to his pledge in election-eve advertisements in local dailies calling for party unity as the DPP faces major mayoral and commissioner elections in 2014 and a presidential election in 2016.
The turnout rate of 68.62 percent — an all-time high for the party — was better than the expected 50 percent, the DPP said.
A total of 240 polling stations for four elections were set up around the nation between 8am and 4pm.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
In addition to a new chairperson, party members selected regional office directors and regional and national representatives.
Despite the election being described as a “four-on-one battle against Su [Tseng-chang]” televised vote counting results showed that he pulled away early.
Former chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who resigned in March following her loss in the Jan. 14 presidential election, cast her vote in Yonghe District (永和), New Taipei City (新北市), in the morning and said that organizational work at the grassroots level would be crucial for the new party boss.
Former vice premier Wu Rong-i (吳榮義) was third with 16,315 votes, or 14.73 percent, while former DPP legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) and former DPP chairperson Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) ranked fourth and fifth, receiving 11.28 percent and 2.49 percent respectively.
Hsu, who is on a hunger strike over three appeals to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), was taken to a polling station by an ambulance yesterday morning.
Hsu told reporters that the DPP should revive the spirit of protest from its early era regardless of who is elected chairperson, or there would be no one to monitor the president.
Acting DPP Chairperson Chen Chu (陳菊) said she hoped that the new chairperson would be able to “handle the cross-strait exchange issue appropriately” and help the party regain its confidence.
The handover ceremony will be held on Wednesday.
At a press conference last night, Su Tseng-chang said the high turnout in the vote made this a win for the whole party.
Ma, acting in his capacity as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman, sent Su Tseng-chang flowers to congratulate him on his victory yesterday.
Asked if he would meet Ma to increase cross-party dialogue, Su Tseng-chang said such efforts should be made if it meant improving the lot of the people, but that if such a meeting were just for show, he would decline.
Candidates who were close to Tsai secured important and symbolic victories in regional director elections, with Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) scoring a surprise victory over Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), a Su Tseng-chang confidant, in New Taipei City, and Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) winning a three-way battle in Taipei.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS