Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called for the party to pass more progressive reforms and communicate better with the public, as she signed up for the party’s chairmanship election next month.
The DPP cannot be just an opposition party, it needs to reinforce its communication with the public and seek consensus among the majority of Taiwanese to re-establish society’s trust in it, Tsai said.
Tsai is expected to beat former Kaohsiung County deputy commissioner Kuo Tai-lin (郭泰麟) by a landslide after DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) dropped out of the race.
The DPP must set off on the road of social activism and regain the trust of civic organizations, Tsai said, adding that while the party does not necessarily have to take the lead on every issue, it must engage in social activism.
“We must leave behind the established centralized leadership and open ourselves to the dynamism of grassroots movements by giving more power to local party headquarters and the people they represent,” Tsai said.
The former presidential candidate said the DPP should shape its legislative agenda through close collaboration with the public and civic organizations.
To that end, the party must break the generational barrier through measures such as establishing a “digital party headquarters” and organizing youth councils to develop future leaders, Tsai said.
“I hope to expedite the process of reforming the party if elected as chairperson. Moreover, I wish to see a change in generational leadership within the party,” Tsai said.
On the DPP’s cross-strait policies, Tsai said that Taiwan’s interaction with China should adhere to democratic procedures, equality and justice, as well as being subject to legal oversight and including dialogue with society.
With these principles as the base of its cross-strait policy, the party can attempt to forge a consensus with the public on the best way to approach China affairs, she said.
In related news, the DPP has changed the structure of its primary for the Taipei mayoral election later this year, after the party’s election strategy group moved to adopt a two-stage process to choose a representative for the Nov. 29 race.
For the first stage, the DPP is to hold a public poll of its four contenders — former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) and DPP legislators Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) and Pasuya Yao (姚文智). The winner will then contend with the independent candidates: physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and writer Neil Peng (馮光遠).
DPP spokesman Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the if the motion is approved by the party’s Central Executive Committee, the first phase could begin by the middle of next month and the next by mid-June.
In response to the DPP’s move, Koo said he is confident that he would win the popularity vote and would be happy to accept the challenge of facing non-DPP members.
He added that how the party mediates the process would be key in how smoothly the primary goes.
Ko said he was not worried about working with the DPP, sayign that the party has its own system and he is willing to let things run its course.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang, Chen Wei-tzu, Tu Chu-yen and staff writer, with CNA
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
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
RSS