Divisions within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have come to the fore again, as the party prepares for the seven-in-one elections next year, with former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) warning that it could turn away public support.
Lu, who is hoping to represent the DPP in the race for Taipei mayor next year, said the Taipei primary has become a “proxy war” between party heavyweights and could result in a public backlash.
Lu did not name names, but DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) is widely believed to favor lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), while former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) reportedly supports National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), an independent who currently has the highest support rate among all pan-green aspirants.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The Taipei primary has become a proxy for a private competition between Su and Tsai for the DPP chairmanship election next year, Lu said.
This maneuvering for personal gain could cost the party dearly, such as the DPP losing in all constituencies in northern and central Taiwan except Yilan County next year, she said.
Lu, who has repeatedly complained of a lack of media coverage of her campaign and the media’s focus on her age, urged DPP headquarters to remain neutral in the primaries.
Meanwhile, the emergence of the New Tide, arguably the most powerful DPP faction, has caught the public’s attention and raised tensions in the party after the group secured a series of primary victories.
Three nominees — Pan Men-an (潘孟安) of Pingtung County, Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷) of Changhua County and Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) of Nantou County — are New Tide members, while Lee Ching-yung (李進勇) won the Yunlin County primary with the backing of the New Tide.
In Greater Taichung, Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌), another New Tide member, is trying to narrow the gap with Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) before the primary on Dec. 20. In Taipei, the group appears to have thrown its support behind Koo, with many city councilors who are members of the group endorsing the lawyer.
A DPP resolution in 2006 dissolved all party factions, prohibiting them from establishing offices, recruiting members and fundraising. However, the factions did not really disappear, as many continue to operate in the form of think tanks or foundations led by a senior party member.
The New Tide’s string of primary wins and heavy campaigning to assist them by Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), both New Tide members, could escalate tensions within the party, former DPP legislator Julian Kuo (郭正亮) said yesterday.
Incumbent mayors and commissioners are advised to stay neutral in the primaries to prevent factional tensions, Kuo said.
Former premier Yu Shyi-kun’s victory in the New Taipei City primary, which drew protests of unfairness from New Taipei City (新北市) Chapter director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who is close to Tsai Ing-wen, has also been described as a trade-off between Yu and Su in exchange for support of Su’s re-election campaign for the chairperson’s post next year. Yu and Su have denied the rumor.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
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Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
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