The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) wants people under the age of 35 and migrants to run in the councilor elections next year to fill vacancies left by former DPP councilors who were elected to the legislature or appointed to the Cabinet, a legislator said yesterday.
DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), the party’s Electoral Strategy Committee convenor, said that the committee proposed nominating younger candidates, new migrants or people who have made a special contribution to fill 11 vacancies left by former DPP councilors in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taoyuan, Keelung and Chunghua.
There are 10 vacancies left by Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌), Wu Chi-ming (吳琪銘), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), Chen Lai Su-me (陳賴素美), Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅), Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), Huang Hsiu-fang (黃秀芳) and Hung Tsung-yi (洪宗熠), who are former city and county councilors elected to the Legislative Yuan.
The other vacancy was left by Taipei City Councilor Tung Chung-yen (童仲彥), who was expelled from the DPP after a domestic violence scandal in February.
The DPP will nominate candidates without primary elections for the 11 seats, while in other constituencies regular primary elections will still be held.
There is no age limit for new migrant and special contributions candidates.
“The nomination principle is in accordance with the DPP’s philosophy to encourage youth participation and ethnic diversity in politics. As the first party to ensure women participate in elections, the DPP encourages pluralism in politics,” DPP spokesman Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said.
The nomination principle might also be applied to Tainan after the redrawing of the city’s constituencies is completed, as two vacancies were left by former city councilors Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) and Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), who have been appointed deputy minister of labor and been elected a legislator respectively.
Candidates likely to be nominated include DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪), former DPP Department of Youth Development director Huang Shou-ta (黃守達) and Rosalia Wu’s aide, Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋珊).
Asked whether the DPP is promoting younger candidates because of pressure from the New Power Party and the so-called “third-force,” which have a large support base among younger voters, Chen said challenges from other parties have motivated the DPP to change.
“The DPP has been improving its image by promoting younger people and introducing ethnic diversity to the party,” Chen added.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS