Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) yesterday said he had decided to drop out of the party’s Nantou County commissioner primary next year.
Tsai’s decision, which was announced after a meeting convened by former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), leaves the primary a battle between two former lawmakers, Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) and Tang Huo-shen (湯火聖).
“Solidarity will be important for the DPP to win in the corruption-ridden central Taiwan county, which has been suffering from a high unemployment rate, a population outflow and a declining local economy,” Tsai said.
Tsai said he would offer full support to whoever wins the nomination.
Meanwhile, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said she has not made a final decision on whether to run in the Taipei mayoral election next year.
Dozens of borough wards met Lu and expressed their support if she decides to run.
“Taipei is a must-win constituency if the DPP is serious about notching up a convincing victory in the seven-in-one local elections, especially the mayoral elections in the six special municipalities,” she said.
“The DPP must nominate the best candidate [in Taipei], but it doesn’t have to be me,” Lu said.
If Lu entered the party primary, her opponents could be lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who has expressed his interest in the bid, and National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has received strong support from DPP members.
Koo and Ko have been visiting senior DPP politicians, but neither has made official announcements about their candidacy.
Koo visited former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday afternoon at Lee’s office in Tamsui District (淡水), New Taipei City (新北市).
According to a press release issued by Koo’s office, the former president offered his encouragement and support to Koo’s possible bid.
Ko met with DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday afternoon at the DPP headquarters, but remained tight-lipped on his decision.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
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