Two Cabinet members yesterday announced plans to resign from their current posts to run in the upcoming legislative elections, saying they hoped their participation in the race would help break Taiwan's current political stalemate.
Vice Chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs Luo Wen-chia (
PHOTO: CHU YO-PIN, TAIPEI TIMES
Luo plans to run in Taipei City, whereas You intends to campaign in Hualien County.
"It will be a new beginning for me to join the race, and I know it will be tough. But I look forward to making a little change to the political atmosphere of the country, elevating the quality of the legislation and bringing new ideas to the legislature," said Luo, an expert in campaign publicity for President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) for almost a decade.
Some politicians, however, saw the move as a sign the DPP was in crisis, and that the two deputy leaders had felt trapped in positions where their abilities could not be brought into full play.
"It is rather unusual for executives to quit to join the campaign race. I think the DPP is facing some ruling difficulties because, after all, these DPP officials are more adept at election strategies, than administrating," PFP lawmaker Diane Lee (李慶安) told the Taipei Times.
"In addition, the two used to be rather active when the DPP was the opposition. But they've barely been heard since the DPP took power, and their performances in their present positions have hardly drawn any attention."
You said the DPP had so far been an ineffectual ruling party because of its disadvantageous position in the Legislative Yuan.
"Today's political deadlock stems from the DPP's minority status in the legislature, which has crippled the implementation of the governmental policies," said You, adding that he hoped that joining the legislature would help strengthen the DPP.
Director of the DPP's department of organizational development Liu I-te (
"It is kind of a waste for officials to run for elections ? I assume they have found themselves being placed in a difficult situation because they have not gained as much attention as they used to," Liu said.
Analysts, however, put a more positive spin on the move.
"I agree with You that running in the election is meant to help break the political impasse," said Wang Yeh-li (
"In accordance with our Constitutional system, the significance of the legislative branch will be increased gradually. If the ruling party does not enjoy a dominant position in the legislature, it will make policy execution almost impossible? I think the DPP's resolution to secure more seats at the legislature is definitely a good strategy."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned incidents in which signage supporting Taiwan was snatched from spectators watching badminton at the Paris Olympics, saying it contravened the spirit of the Games and freedom of speech. The incident took place during the men’s doubles match on Friday, when Taiwan’s Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) advanced to the final after beating Denmark’s Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen. A unidentified man in a pink shirt was seen seizing the sign from a female spectator — later identified as Yang Chih-yun (楊芷芸), a Taiwanese studying in France — before being removed from the
TALLY: Sharpshooter Lee Meng-yuan won Taiwan’s first medal in Paris, taking home a bronze, while boxer Chen Nien-chin has secured at least a bronze medal Taiwanese badminton duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) yesterday won the gold medal in the men's doubles final at the Paris Olympics, defeating China's Liang Weikeng (梁偉鏗) and Wang Chan (王昶). The victory made them the first Taiwanese shuttlers to win more than one Olympic medal with back-to-back gold. They were crowned champions in the event at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Earlier in the day, Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) secured her first Olympic medal in front of a crowd chanting her name, a day after fellow boxer Imane Khelif did the same, following days of online abuse
Taiwan is to secure at least one medal at the Paris Olympics following boxer Wu Shih-yi’s (吳詩儀) quarter-final victory in the women’s 60kg (lightweight) division, while the nation’s male badminton players topped their groups. Wu defeated Maria Jose Palacios of Ecuador, a Pan American Games bronze medalist last year, by majority decision, with four out of five judges scoring in her favor. The 26-year-old pugilist is guaranteed to win at least a bronze medal, as there is no bronze-medal match in boxing. The victory was significant for Taiwan. Wu’s success came after the elimination of three Taiwanese boxers, including Kan Chia-wei (甘佳葳) in the
A hacking group believed to be linked to the Chinese government stole passwords and documents from a Taiwanese government-affiliated research center that specializes in computing, cybersecurity researchers at Cisco Systems Inc said on Thursday. The attackers used a kind of malicious software tool that is almost entirely used by China-based groups, after they gained access to the unnamed research center as early as July last year, Cisco’s Talos threat intelligence group said in a report shared exclusively with Bloomberg News. Based on that and other techniques, Cisco believes with “moderate confidence” that the hackers are part of a state-sponsored espionage group called