Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for fair competition in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary for the year-end Tainan mayoral election, as he returned to the city he governed as mayor for almost seven years to extend Lunar New Year greetings and distribute hongbao (紅包), or lucky red envelopes, to residents.
“All aspirants should engage in a gentlemen’s competition and secure voters’ support by proposing good policies,” said Lai, who took office as mayor in December 2010 and served until he was appointed premier in September last year.
Only through a fair fight could the DPP maintain the support and trust Tainan residents have long placed in the party, he said, adding that none of the alleged attacks and smears among the would-be candidates were true.
Photo: Chiu Hao-tang, Taipei Times
Six people have said they will seek the DPP nomination: DPP legislators Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) and Wang Ding-yu (王定宇), as well as former lawmaker Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) and former deputy Tainan mayor Yen Chun-tso (顏純左).
Lai was accompanied by Huang, Chen, Yeh and Yen on his visits to the Kaitai Tianhou Temple (開台天后宮) in Anping District (安平), one of the nation’s oldest temples, and the Kuanyin Temple (觀音亭).
Meanwhile, Lunar New Year greetings by politicians in Taipei were also overshadowed by the year-end elections.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) — who has announced his bid for the DPP’s mayoral primary in the capital, visited Baoan Temple (保安宮) in the Dalongdong (大龍峒) area to hand out red envelopes.
Ko, an independent seeking re-election, was kept at a distance from Tsai and Yao, triggering renewed speculation as to whether the DPP intends to field its own candidate in the mayoral race, or endorse Ko again to consolidate the pan-green camp’s support base.
Ko declined to respond when reporters asked if he felt Tsai was playing favorites with Yao.
The Lunar New Year holiday was a time for “nice words” only, he said.
Asked the same question, Yao responded: “What do you think?”
He did not need anyone to play favorites because unity was what mattered, the lawmaker said.
The nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 will see voters choose the mayors and city councilors in the six special municipalities, mayors and councilors in other cities, Aboriginal district representatives and councilors, county commissioners and councilors, township mayors and councilors, and borough and village wardens.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS