Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday played down criticism from his long-time political rival and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) upon his return to Taipei after a six-day visit to Europe, stressing party consolidation in an election year.
Su dodged media inquiries about Hsieh’s criticism against his leadership and intention to run both in the chairman election in May and the presidential election in 2016, saying that the most important task for the party is “consolidation and answering the public’s concerns.”
“The most important task for the DPP is consolidation and winning the seven-in-one local election [in November],” Su told reporters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Hsieh was quoted by former DPP lawmaker Julian Kuo (郭正亮) as saying in a recent private conversation that he would make Su “miserable to the very end” if the “incompetent” chairman dared to declare a bid on the party’s presidential nomination as a re-elected chairman.
As Kuo’s article was published after Su’s departure and several lawmakers who are close to Hsieh began advocating the idea that the party chairman should not be a presidential candidate around the same time, the moves had been interpreted as an indication of Hsieh’s interests in vying for the DPP chairmanship despite Hsieh giving ambiguous answers about his possible bid.
Hsieh was also reportedly seeking to form a coalition with former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in an the arrangement that would allow Hsieh to run for chairman and Tsai to focus on her presidential campaign.
Tsai, who denied the existence of such an alliance, said yesterday during a visit to New Taipei City (新北市) that while consolidation would be crucial, “the DPP’s inner competition would be inevitable,” adding that the practical goal would be “harmonious competition within the party and the eventual election of a chairman with the mandate of strong member support and social recognition.”
The former DPP presidential candidate has been tight-lipped about her plans, but could have the same strategy as Su, looking to win the chairmanship before securing the presidential nomination.
The highlights of Su’s trip to Germany, Belgium and the UK included visits to the European Parliament and the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies, where he said in a speech that the DPP would not revise the Taiwan independence clause in its party charter, but that the party would seek active and confident engagement with China.
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