It is highly unlikely that opposition Democratic Progressive Party Chairwoman (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will contest the Taipei County commissioner election, a DPP official said on Saturday.
The speculation arose after a top aide of Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋) was taken into custody for his alleged involvement in a corruption case, throwing uncertainty on Chou’s potential re-election bid late next year.
The Chinese-language United Daily News reported that some members of the DPP in Taipei County had been attempting to persuade Tsai to run against Chou in the election.
They hoped that the popular chairwoman and her fresh image would be able to produce a “coattail effect” in the city and county head elections, it said.
DPP Vice Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said, however, that he personally felt the idea was unfeasible, especially with the nomination process for the races set to begin soon.
“The nomination process for the 2009 local chief elections is expected to be completed by the end of this year,” he said.
“The nomination will be flexible and not rigid, but the strategy team has yet to discuss specific individuals,” he said, adding that the party’s election strategy team was scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
DPP sources said that former Executive Yuan secretary-general Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) and former legislator Jao Yung-ching (趙永清) were keen to run for Taipei County chief and that the DPP might also try to persuade former National Police Agency head Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) to join the race as well, given his popularity.
Tsai, a former professor, legislator and vice premier, took over the helm of the party in May following its major setbacks in the legislative and presidential elections.
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
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,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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