The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday denied it had decided to support National Taiwan University Hospital physician Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) bid in the Taipei mayoral election as an independent in November and that it would not nominate its own candidate.
Storm Media, an online news Web site, reported yesterday that the DPP had decided it would not nominate its own candidate in the Taipei election to boost Ko’s chance of winning after the aspirant’s meeting with DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) during the Lunar New Year holidays.
The media outlet also reported that the now-defunct New Tide faction, one of the most powerful factions in the party, has switched its allegiance to Ko and dropped its support of lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), one of five DPP aspirants.
Former DPP lawmakers Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠), both New Tide members, had accompanied Ko on a visit to a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) heavyweight on Jan. 28 for talks on inter-party support, according to the report.
DPP spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) denied that Su had met Ko during the holidays. Cheng denied that he had accompanied Ko on the reported visit and said former New Tide members had not thrown their support behind any aspirant in the Taipei mayoral election.
Ko said on the sidelines of the Taipei International Book Exhibition yesterday that his itinerary was “confidential” and he would not share it with the public, and that the reported endorsement by the New Tide faction “is also something that I would keep to myself.”
Ko, whose support rating is ahead of that of Koo and the other DPP aspirants — former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), Taipei City Council Deputy Speaker Chou Po-ya (周柏雅) and DPP lawmakers Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and Pasuya Yao (姚文智) — has been campaigning hard to run as a “pan-green candidate” without having to obtain DPP membership, a proposal that most DPP aspirants oppose.
After previously stressing his preference for “letting the nomination process run its course,” Ko appeared to have changed his position yesterday, saying that settling the nomination by the end of next month would be a better idea so that “current disputes over the issue would not go on forever.”
In response to the report, Koo said he was not aware of the reported decision and that he did not sense the loss of the New Tide faction’s support.
“What the DPP must do is lay out the rules of the game as soon as possible so that anxiety among DPP aspirants like me can be relieved,” Koo said yesterday, adding that his support rating has surpassed Lu’s and made him the leader among the five DPP aspirants.
Koo said he hoped the DPP could finalize the primary format at a Central Executive Committee meeting on Feb. 15.
He said he would accept either format for the primary if it was formally adopted by the DPP, referring to the so-called “one-phase” and “two-phase” formats, with the former including Ko in the party’s public opinion poll and the latter matching the winner of five DPP aspirants with Ko for a second poll to determine the final candidate.
However, Ko is likely not to be the only independent in the running, as award-winning writer Neil Peng (馮光遠) is also likely to enter the race, Koo said.
“If the DPP includes Ko in the public opinion poll, how would the party deal with Peng?” Koo asked.
Former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday that the most important task for the DPP would be “breaking the KMT’s monopoly on the Taipei mayorship,” which is why garnering maximum momentum among the opposition is crucial.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS