Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is scheduled to officially launch her own foundation early next month to work on charity projects and public policy.
The foundation, provisionally called the “Hsiao-ying [Little Ing] Educational Foundation,” is considered by many to be the equivalent of a campaign headquarters if Tsai decides to seek the DPP nomination for the presidency in 2016.
The foundation’s executive director will be former finance minister Lin Chuan (林全) and its deputy executive director former DPP deputy secretary-general Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福). Several former DPP officials who worked under Tsai will also play an active role.
Key personnel and consultants will include former Mainland Affairs Council official Chan Chih-hung (詹志宏), economist Chen Po-chih (陳博志), economics professor Liu Chin-tien (劉錦添) and political analyst Yao Li-ming (姚立明).
One key aspect of the -foundation’s work will be the establishment of an online forum to promote dialogue and debate on national and social issues.
The forum, which has the working title “Thinking Taiwan Forum,” will encourage discussion in six broad categories, including democracy and law, China affairs, economic affairs and social and cultural issues, and will publish articles written by young professionals, academics, activists and prominent writers.
“The forum is intended to be an opinion leader among -intellectuals and to facilitate bipartisan discussion on various issues,” said a foundation staffer, who was not authorized to speak on the matter and wished to remain anonymous.
Tsai believes that it is essential for the nation to engage in a meaningful, pragmatic and rational discourse that transcends partisan politics and includes as many voices and opinions as possible, the staffer said.
While Tsai remains tight-lipped about whether she plans to run in the presidential election four years from now, several people have said the foundation resembles a campaign office, with departments focused on communications, -policy research, public relations and opinion polls.
The foundation also plans to work on the reorganization of the “Friends of Tsai Ing-wen,” a grassroots organization established during the presidential campaign, that has more than 10,000 members, to mobilize supporters.
Despite having fewer than 30 full-time employees, the foundation is also looking to make use of volunteers.
The foundation, which is funded from the NT$120 million (US$4 million) election subsidy Tsai received after the Jan. 14 presidential election, is still waiting for final approval from the Ministry of Education.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS