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
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS