Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄) said yesterday that he is preparing to campaign for Taipei mayor, and that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had expressed positive feelings on a Shen candidacy.
Unlike a number of high-profile DPP candidates who failed to be re-elected to the legislature last December, Shen has not served in any political or bureaucratic capacity since his loss.
Until now Shen has maintained a low profile on the question of running for Taipei mayor. However, in a story in a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday, he expressed a willingness to run for the post.
NO ANNOUNCEMENT
Shen said that he was not formally announcing his candidacy, but that he had been preparing for the election a long time, and that he had discussed the plan with Chen last week.
Shen said that Chen not only indicated a positive attitude toward his position but also gave him several "tips" on how to campaign in Taipei City.
"President Chen suggested that I consolidate traditional supporters in the pan-green camp first, and that it was not necessary to target voters occupying the middle ground," the former lawmaker said.
`NO REGRETS'
He said that he had been preparing for the election every day, and that no one else in the party would be better prepared.
"My preparation for municipal affairs is moving forward and will not stumble," Shen said. "But if I cannot join the campaign, then I will have no regrets."
DPP spokesman Cheng Wen-tsan (
TOO EARLY
"Recently, some good candidates from both the pan-green and pan-blue camps have come under a lot of discussion. However, it is too early to say whom the final candidates will be," Cheng said.
"At present, the DPP is focusing on the year-end elections for mayors and county commissioners. The mayoral elections of Taipei City and Kaohsiung City will be the focus in the following stage," he said.
DPP Legislator for Taipei City Hsiao Bi-khim (
POSSIBLE RIVALS
Former Mainland Affairs Council chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former vice premier Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) are also considered strong possibilities for the maymayoral race.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
Minister of Labor Ho Pei-shan (何佩珊) yesterday apologized after the suicide of a civil servant earlier this month and announced that a supervisor accused of workplace bullying would be demoted. On Nov. 4, a 39-year-old information analyst at the Workforce Development Agency’s (WDA) northern branch, which covers greater Taipei and Keelung, as well as Yilan, Lienchiang and Kinmen counties, was found dead in their office. WDA northern branch director Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), who has been accused of involvement in workplace bullying, would be demoted to a nonsupervisory position, Ho told a news conference in Taipei. WDA Director-General Tsai Meng-liang (蔡孟良) said he would
RSS