Former Tainan county commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智), who on Saturday announced his plan to leave the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and run for Taipei mayor, reaffirmed his bid while criticizing the DPP-led central government for failing to address issues such as wage stagnation and the low birth rate.
During a radio interview, Su said that his withdrawal from the party was aimed at addressing issues that plague the nation, including wage stagnation among young people, the low birth rate, the lack of long-term care insurance and slowing innovative industrial development.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier William Lai (賴清德) have paid attention to those issues, but their policies and performance have failed to meet public expectations, Su said.
“I am not angry [with the DPP] — what I am worried about is the economic plight of Taiwan,” Su said.
He decided to pursue an independent candidacy, because he does not have a government position, Su said, adding that Tsai offered him some positions, which he refused.
Su said he would not drop out, but persist through the election, even if the DPP nominated its own candidate for Taipei mayor.
Asked why a former Tainan county commissioner would pursue the Taipei mayor’s job, Su said that he has been practicing law in Taipei for years and is a long-time resident.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is known for his financial management by cutting spending and reducing debts, but has a mediocre city management performance and lacks a comprehensive vision of development, said Su, who has yet to announce his policy for city management.
Saying that the DPP is poised to again forgo the Taipei mayoral election to renew its alliance with Ko, Su said that the party would not need to give up the election if the Tsai administration were successful.
Because the popularity of the administration is falling, Ko could boost his popularity by criticizing the DPP, Su said.
Following Su’s announcement, DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) reiterated his call for the DPP to nominate its own candidate for the Taipei mayoral race, especially now that Su has decided to run.
“If the DPP does not make a nomination, the candidate withdrawing from the party would receive it,” because more than half of the party’s supporters do not want to vote for Ko and might support Su, Yao said.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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