The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday held a campaign rally to introduce its female nominees for legislator-at-large positions.
Chanting the slogan "women [candidates] account for half of the nominations and we hope the DPP will win over 50 percent of seats in the legislature," five of the party's female nominees for legislator-at-large stood together and declared their resolution to join the next legislature.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The five pledged to create a new voice and viewpoint in the legislature, long seen as a being dominated by men.
"The DPP is the party that cares most about women's political participation in Taiwan," DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
"Our impressive slate of legislator-at-large nominees meets the DPP's promise to women and shows our resolve to maintain a democratic and progressive outlook," Chang said.
Although the DPP is only 18 years old, it is the political party that shows most respect for women, Chang said.
A DPP party clause requires at least one-fourth of its candidates in all local elections be filled by women, he added.
The party also enabled Taiwan to have its first woman vice president and a woman vice premier, he said.
"Hopefully, our excellent female candidates will win more recognition and support from women voters and help the pan-green camp win a majority in the Legislative Yuan," Chang said.
In addition to the former chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council Tsai Ing-wen (
Tsai declined to attend yesterday's rally as she did not want to take attention away from the other nominees, according Ho Chia-ling (
Meanwhile, Chang responded to reports that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had nominated Olympic taekwondo silver medalist Huang Chih-hsiung (
"We think that the Olympic heroes are great national assets belonging to all the people of Taiwan, not a certain party. And we don't want to taint them with political color," Chang said.
"I think to not nominate these athletes is to show real respect for them," he said.
Chang also denied that the DPP has been in contact with Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) and Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎), gold medalists in taekwondo at the Athens Olympics, to persuade them to join the DPP.
The DPP will help them to achieve success but will not take advantage of their fame, he said.
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The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese