A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator-at-large, Tsai Huang-liang (
His vacancy will be replaced by former DPP legislator Hsu Jung-shu (
"I'm sure you guys will miss me," Tsai told reporters after a press conference organized to bid farewell to the 45-year-old.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Accepting a sword offered by Hsu and a "diploma" presented by DPP caucus whip Lai Ching-te (
Tsai's resignation followed party rules, which require lawmakers to give up their post should they run as candidates in regional elections. His resignation came before the DPP's Central Standing Committee confirmed its nominees for the 16 electoral districts yesterday afternoon.
In addition to Tsai, other candidates for the year-end elections include former minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (
In Yunlin County, former DPP legislator Su Chih-fen (
DPP Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
To be a good caucus leader, Lin said that a person has to be able to negotiate with lawmakers from other parties and government officials.
With his 10-year experience in the legislature, Lin said that he believes Tsai would make a good county commissioner.
Tsai, who entered the political limelight about a decade ago and was elected to the legislature in 1995, said he hopes county residents will give him a chance to serve them and promised to get more funding for local infrastructure projects.
Tsai was born in 1960 into a poor tenant farmer's family of nine in Puli, Nantou County. He graduated from a two-year college program, which was previously affiliated with National Chengchi University and is now affiliated with the National Open University.
The life of the farmer's son took a dramatic turn in 1979 when the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime cracked down on an anti-government parade in Kaohsiung organized by Formosa magazine -- a brutal chapter in Taiwan's history later coined the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件).
What the government did to those people made Tsai detest the KMT regime and prompted him to join the democratic movement after completing his military service.
He became a DPP member after the regime lifted a ban on political parties in 1986, but began his political career in 1984 as a township representative in his hometown. In the 18 years following, he has assumed positions ranging from township arbitrator, representative of his colleague Hsu's campaign office in Nantou, to county councilor and lawmaker.
Recalling working with Tsai in the days of the KMT era when the two ran an underground radio station, Hsu described Tsai as an articulate, quick-witted, hard-working and practical person.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as