Former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) faces tough challenges as she tries to revive the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Tsai will be the DPP’s first female leader, after winning the chairmanship vote on Sunday over former senior presidential advisor Koo Kuang-ming (辜寬敏) with 57.14 percent of the vote to Koo’s 37.81 percent. Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) won 5.05 percent, even though he had pulled out of the race last week in favor of Koo.
On Sunday night, Tsai said that when she takes office tomorrow she will begin a series of visits to solicit opinions from grassroots groups, civic reform groups and opinionmakers in various fields.
She said the party would continue to pursue its ideals of protecting Taiwan’s sovereignty, deepening Taiwan’s young democracy and promoting social equity. She said she is convinced that with devoted service to the people, the DPP will be able to rebuild the public’s trust and get back on its feet.
Outgoing DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said the smooth election of a new party head was “the first step toward our recovery” following the party’s losses in the legislative and presidential elections.
He praised Koo for his sportsmanship and democratic approach, after Koo conceded defeat when the vote count showed him to be trailing Tsai by more than 20,000 votes.
DPP legislative whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said Tsai must step up efforts to integrate various factions within the party — work that should include mending ties with Koo and his staunch supporters, he said.
She must map out directions and strategies for party reform and strengthen interaction with the legislative caucus, Ker said.
Next year’s mayoral and county commissioner elections will be the first test of Tsai’s leadership, Ker said, suggesting that DPP headquarters should set up a think tank that could pool the resources and strengths of both the headquarters and caucus.
Praising Tsai as a resourceful woman capable of finding ways to realize ideals, Ker called on all DPP members and supporters to back her and help her raise the party from the ashes of its defeats.
DPP legislative whip William Lai (賴清德) praised both Tsai and Koo for their efforts to avoid creating new factional strife during their campaign.
“The peaceful conclusion of the election marks a good start for our party’s revival,” he said.
Lai said he hoped the party would form a clean governance commission to promote integrity and political ethics.
Meanwhile, Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) yesterday hailed Tsai’s election and promised to give her party reform proposals their full support.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘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