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
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS