The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced its legislator-at-large nominees, a list which contrasted with past practice as it included a substantial portion of nominees who are not DPP members.
The list of 34 nominees includes 14 who are not affiliated with any political party. Five of the top eight nominees are not DPP members, which means members of the public have a greater chance of winning seats in the legislature in the Jan. 16 elections.
At a press conference in Taipei, DPP Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that though the roster is very “non-DPP” on the surface, it fully reflects the party’s beliefs of openness and diversity, thereby allowing for more professional input in the legislature.
Photo: CNA
Later in the day, DPP legislators Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who have also been nominated for legislator-at-large seats, visited the Central Election Commission and completed the registration for their nominations.
Each nominee would shoulder their responsibility to push for reform, monitor the government and establish communication between the public and the government if they win a seat in the legislature, Tsai said.
“I promise that each and every DPP lawmaker will assume the role of ‘megaphone,’ to broadcast public opinion. Let us achieve an outright majority in the legislature so that we can truly bring about reform,” Tsai said.
Asked about an opinion piece penned by Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, in which Chen insinuated that Judicial Reform Foundation standing director Wellington Ku’s (顧立雄) acceptance of the DPP nomination proves that “power is enticing,” Tsai said: “I am not sure who he [Chen] is talking about. I believe that Ku is the one who is most familiar with issues about judicial reform. I think that he is an ideal nominee with expansive experience.”
Tsai also confirmed that former Academia Sinica vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and herself would register as presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Central Election Commission on Friday.
The coast guard drove away 567 Chinese boats and seized seven illegally operating in Taiwanese waters in the first six months of this year, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. They mostly operated near Kinmen and Penghu counties, resulting in fines totaling NT$1.7 million (US$52,440), it said. Three ships — two near Kinmen County and one near Penghu County — were detained in January for illegally crossing the border, while one ship each was detained near Kinmen in February and Penghu in March respectively, it said. The ship seized near Penghu in January was the Yun Ao (雲澳), detained by the CGA’s
Military photovoltaic projects have been found to have used Chinese-made devices blacklisted by the government, including Huawei Technologies Co routers, the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau said on Thursday. An ongoing investigation has identified the illegal use of 128 current transformers, two routers and a data reader at the Hungchailin Army Base, Pinghai Navy Base and Tri-Service General Hospital’s Songshan branch, it said. The devices were manufactured in the Chinese factories of German solar energy equipment supplier SMA Solar Technology, Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Delta Electronics Co, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei and Taiwanese industrial PC maker Advantech Co, the bureau said. The bureau’s
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
FLU CONTINUES: Hospitals reported 101,091 visits for flu-like illnesses last week, while 68 severe cases and 16 flu-related deaths were also reported, the CDC said The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported 932 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and 64 related deaths for last week, adding that the number of people who had contracted new SARS-CoV-2 subvariants KP.2 and LB.1 has increased. The number of people hospitalized due to COVID-19 increased from 815 in the previous week to 932 last week, while 90 percent of the 64 deceased were aged 65 or older, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. JN.1 was still the dominant variant among local and imported cases in the past four weeks, while KP.2 was the second-most common, Lin said. Cases with the LB.1 subvariant