Following multiple failed attempts to win the Penghu county commissioner seat, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has tapped Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) to run for the post in the Nov. 29 elections, counting not only on his deep connections in the area, but also his increased chances in light of public dissatisfaction with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government.
Unlike the delayed confirmation of the candidacy of his KMT rival Su Kun-hsiung (蘇崑雄), the DPP decided early on to nominate Chen to represent the party in Penghu in next month’s election.
Tsai Chien-hsing (蔡建興) backed out of the DPP’s primary and said he fully supported Chen, further strengthening the party’s morale in the county after Yang Yao (楊曜) was elected a Penghu legislator for the DPP in 2012.
Chen lost his first two bids for Penghu county commissioner to the KMT’s Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) and Wang Chien-fa (王乾發), as well as a legislative election to the KMT’s Lin Ping-kun (林炳坤), but instead of leaving his hometown, Chen stayed in Penghu to build his connections.
The founder of Penghu’s first distillery who lead the push for direct flights between Penghu and Pingtung County’s Siaoliouciou (小琉球) and whose wife runs a free English-language cram school program, Chen has slowly built up his social network in the region.
With the perceived lack of accomplishment of the ruling KMT central government, many DPP supporters in the county say that Chen has a great chance of turning the political tables in next month’s election.
Chen’s campaign policies focus on the slogan: “Leading Penghu, for your and my happiness” and 12 basic policy tenets.
Chen is calling for the development of winter tourism in the county; the restoration of marine resources; the revitalization of disused land; implementation of care for the elderly; reinvigorating free trade and the economy; creating more jobs; ensuring priority plane ticket slots for Penghu residents; increased medical facilities across the county; promotion of the cultural creative industry; protection of the rights of farmers, fishermen and laborers; the conservation of the county’s cultural heritage; and providing stability for teachers and civil servants.
Chen said in a recent interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that his policies would help the county lead the region into an economic boom.
Despite the political advantages of his KMT rival being the head of Magong City (馬公), Chen said he would use his time wisely and visit both Penghu and the other islands that are under the county’s jurisdiction.
By putting efforts into campaigning and personally visiting voters, it will not only cement the party’s advantage in the region, but also allow Chen to build on that advantage and move slowly toward victory, he said.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Passengers aboard Korean Airlines Flight KE189 arrived in Taichung safely yesterday after a scare the previous day encountering uncontrolled decompression, which injured 13 passengers. Flight KE189 departed from Incheon at 4:45pm on Saturday bound for Taichung with 125 passengers on board. The flight was above Jeju Island when a fault in the pressurization system occurred 50 minutes after takeoff. Online flight tracker Flightradar24’s data show that the plane dropped more than 8,000 meters within 15 minutes, before it returned and landed back at Incheon Airport at 19:38pm. Thirteen passengers on board had a headache or earache due to the incident and were hospitalized. A different
China might seek to isolate Taiwan and weaken its economy through a “quarantine,” which would make it difficult for the US to respond and force Taipei to negotiate on unification, CNN reported on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “increasingly bellicose actions” toward Taiwan have heightened concerns that Beijing would use its military against Taiwan, it said, citing a report by think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). However, China might choose to initiate a quarantine, rather than a military invasion of Taiwan, to avoid US involvement, it said. “A quarantine [is] a law enforcement-led operation to control
A new message broadcast on the Taipei MRT’s Wenhu (Brown) Line urging passengers to yield their seats to those in need, not necessarily elderly people, would be extended to other MRT lines and public transportation in the capital, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday. Chiang was responding to reporters’ questions on the sidelines of a news conference at Taipei City Hall promoting healthy walking. Several disputes over priority seats on public transportation have recently been reported, sparking debate about who qualifies to sit in them, as most of the cases involved elderly people asking young people to give up their