In a bid to facilitate unity in the pan-green camp for the year-end elections of local government chiefs, the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) nominee for the Keelung mayoral election, Wang Tuoh (
"Seeing that the pan-green camp's disunity in Keelung City has decreased the chances of Keelung City's progress and reform, and in order not to let Keelung residents down, I have decided to drop out of the year-end election and let pan-green supporters have an easier selection," Wang said.
"From now, my campaign activities in Keelung will stop and hopefully voters will shift their support to Chen," Wang said.
PHOTO: CHEN TSE-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Accompanied by DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (
The DPP and the TSU have for months quarreled and traded barbs over the candidacy for Keelung mayoral election.
The TSU asked the DPP not to nominate a candidate in the city, while the DPP insisted on nominating Wang to counter Chen Chien-ming.
Shu yesterday said that Wang's withdrawal from the election was an important beginning for the DPP and the TSU and he believed it could be a cornerstone for continued cooperation.
"During our visit to Central America, President Chen told us that the progress of Taiwan's democracy relies on Taiwan's unity," Shu said. "Chairman Su and I totally agreed with the president's words and decided to work on this goal."
Su echoed the TSU leader's opinion, saying that unity is the only way for the pan-green camp to have a sustainable existence.
Shu added that Liu Yi-teh (
Meanwhile, in the pan-blue camp, Taitung County Council Speaker Wu Chun-li (吳俊立) yesterday announced that he would not accept the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) recommendation to be its candidate and will instead campaign for county commissionership as an independent.
Wu said his decision was intended to protect the KMT's opponents from attacking the party over reform.
Wu was found guilty of violating the Statute for the Punishment of Corruption (
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
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,
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
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