Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on Monday announced that she would represent the Formosa Alliance in next year’s presidential elections.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was left scrambling to prevent a potential split in its voter base, calling on Lu, as well as the spiritual leader of the Taiwan Action Party Alliance and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), to help maintain pan-green solidarity.
Lu and her vice presidential running mate, Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯), yesterday morning registered their candidacy with the Central Election Commission in Taipei and submitted the required NT$1 million (US$32,222) guarantee.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that pan-green supporters were saddened to see a split in the pan-green camp.
The DPP must be cautious about how it handles Lu throwing her hat in the ring, as she has a certain amount of backing and is familiar with the party’s inner workings, Huang said.
As Lu would have the support of deep-green groups, she would present a major threat to Tsai, Huang added.
Chen has considerable support in southern Taiwan, Huang said, urging the former president to side with the DPP in the presidential and legislative elections.
Tsai’s campaign manager, Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄), said that her campaign team respected Lu’s decision and was mindful of Lu’s contribution to Taiwan’s democratization.
However, Taiwan faces Beijing’s oppression on every front and its supporters must be on the same page, Juan said, citing the party’s disciplinary regulations, which stipulate that any party member who announces their intention to run without the party’s support should have their membership revoked.
DPP headquarters director Chen Cheng-te (陳正德) said that once Lu’s Formosa Alliance candidacy is formally recognized, the DPP would follow its disciplinary regulations.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said at an event in Yunlin County that he hoped to have the chance to meet with Lu and discuss the issue, adding that it was his duty to consider what is best for Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Huang Shu-li
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS