Two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators who did not perform well in Sunday's legislative primary vote withdrew yesterday from the party's legislative primary, a sign of the declining fortunes of the once-influential New Tide faction.
Former Legislator Lin Cho-shui (
Some 60,000 DPP grassroots supporters had earlier launched a campaign to prevent 11 "DPP bandits" -- many of whom were affiliated with the faction -- from becoming legislative nominees because of their outspokenness against the party.
DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), among the 11 blacklisted politicians, although she was not a member of the faction, lost to DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅), by a margin of 33.87 percent in the first district of Taipei.
Hsiao said the boycott had influenced her campaign performance, adding that the sobriquet "Chinese Khim (中國琴)" had managed to "discredit" her.
"If [they] would like to discredit the New Tide faction as a `Chinese faction' and call me `Chinese Khim' because of my cooperation with the faction, shouldn't they also call President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) `Chinese Bian (中國扁)' because his trusted aide Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) also belongs to the faction?" she asked.
DPP Legislator Lin Su-shan (
Shen told a press conference he would immediately stop his campaign activity and throw his full support behind rival DPP Legislator Chen Tsiao-Long (陳朝龍).
Shen was competing against Chen in the 12th legislative district of Taipei, but only garnered 567 votes, or 32.72 percent of the votes in the district, losing to Chen, who received 1,166 votes.
Under the DPP system, the party member vote counts for 30 percent of a would-be candidate's "score," while a public poll accounts for the remaining 70 percent. Consequently, Shen could only win the election if he beat Chen in the public opinion poll by a margin of at least 15 percent.
The poll will be held between Friday and June 17.
Shen said he was "deeply moved" after learning that Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had decided to opt out of the party's presidential primaryfor the sake of DPP unity.
Shen said he accepted the result of the vote, adding he would not have been able to prepare for the primary since his father recently passed away.
"I am worried, however, about the consequences of the infighting that occurred during the primary," he said.
"Although grassroots supporters have blamed the New Tide faction and reformists, they should not deny the devotion of this group to Taiwanese democracy," said Shen.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
RSS