Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers and party members yesterday identified the first family's recent controversies and the uncertainty over the nomination of the party's candidate for Taipei mayor as challenges facing the party in a day-long conference.
The conference was organized in a bid to find solutions to the problems posed by the DPP's deteriorating popularity and flagging public image. It was attended by party heavyweights, legislators, grassroots members and political researchers who offered their opinions and suggestions.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun participated and presided over the discussion sessions.
The conference focused on three topics: the DPP's fundamental values and public image, the development of the DPP's central and local organizations and the DPP's nomination systems.
During the conference, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lee Chien-chang (李建昌) criticized President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and his family for their lack of credibility and accountability on issues of integrity that have damaged the DPP's public image. Lee questioned why party heavyweights such as Lu, Yu, Su and Hsieh, who hold important governmental offices, had not raised these issues with the president.
"No matter how hard grassroots members try, high-ranking members can ruin our efforts easily," Lee said.
Some DPP members voiced similar opinions, saying the first family lacked humility and had no intention of reflecting upon their mistakes.
Another major talking point was the uncertainty over the party's candidate for the Taipei mayoral election, since nobody registered for the primary by last Friday's deadline. DPP Legislator You Ching (
You added that he felt the DPP had not been "fair" to him because the party actually wanted Hsieh to run for mayor. But the party chairman responded that You had failed to meet the application requirements and could not blame the party for this.
"The primary must be run according to the rules and we hope party members will obey those rules," Yu said.
Conference attendants also focused on discussing how to hammer out a new nomination system that would help the DPP to identify candidates who were capable of winning elections.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS