The results of the Nov. 27 special municipality elections could deal a blow to President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) cross-strait policies, the head election coordinator for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
The polls, which will be held in the nation’s five most populous municipalities, “could be interpreted in a way that pits pro-China policies against policies that protect Taiwan,” former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) told a media briefing.
Yu suggested that the effectiveness of the two agendas could be easily influenced by whether voters choose DPP candidates or Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates later this month.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Voters in the five special municipality elections represent 60 percent of the total population and the five most economically developed areas, including Taipei City. The elections are seen as an important precursor to the legislative elections next year and the presidential election in 2012.
Calling the poll a “midterm test” for the president, Yu said: “We will likely see a reshuffle across the pan-blue and pan-green political landscapes” following the results.
In terms of the opposition party’s definition of winning the tightly fought race, Yu was evasive, reminding the public that Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) lost his re-election bid for Taipei mayor in 1998 to Ma, despite securing more votes than in 1994. Chen went on to win the presidency in 2000.
During the same poll in 1998, former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) narrowly beat current Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) in Kaohsiung.
It was an example of a tie, he said, adding that the improved performance did not necessarily translate into an increase in the number of seats.
The DPP could either “win, lose or even tie” the coming election race, he said.
His comments were likely made to downplay earlier remarks made by DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁), who said that DPP Chairperson and Sinbei City mayoral candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would have to step down in the event of an electoral defeat according to DPP tradition.
Meanwhile, Yu said DPP candidates would focus on consolidating votes in areas and population segments that have historically voted for the DPP during the final 24 days of their campaigns.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but