The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Central Standing Committee yesterday elected Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) as the party’s acting chairman, after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) stepped down from the party’s top post over the DPP’s bruising defeat in Saturday’s nine-in-one elections.
Former DPP secretary-general Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福), who also stepped down from his post, told reporters after the committee meeting that Lin was chosen for his extensive experience and good rapport with his colleagues.
“Lin began working with the party as a junior staff member and has worked in a number of different positions including vice secretary-general. He is familiar with party affairs and would adapt to the new role quickly,” Hung said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Lin was elected in a unanimous vote, Hung added.
“The party needs me at this difficult time, so I will be brave and take that responsibility,” Lin told a news conference afterward.
The DPP’s defeat suggested that there is great room for improvement and the party must thoroughly reflect on its mistakes, he said.
“The problem does not lie in a lack of younger politicians in leadership positions, but in a need to truly understand our mistakes and sharing the responsibility in fixing them,” Lin added.
The party must ensure government stability while improving its performance, he said, calling for solidarity and urging party members to remain ambitious.
“Such a difficult time requires us to work together more than ever. We must support each other, comfort and encourage our supporters, and never lose our conviction,” Lin said.
His priorities are to organize the election for a new chairman and the nomination of two candidates for a legislative by-elections, he said.
The by-elections are expected to be held in Taipei and Tainan in January after DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) resigned during his campaign for Taipei mayor and DPP legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) was elected Tainan mayor.
The committee also decided to form a team to coordinate work on the nomination for the by-elections, DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said.
Its members include Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), who was named convener, DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) and himself, Cheng Yun-peng said.
As the Central Election Commission might announce the details of the by-elections as soon as tomorrow, candidates should move their household registration to the electoral district where they plan to stand for election by that time if they are from a different district, he said.
The team would consult with likely candidates and ensure that their household registrations are in the district they want to represent, he added.
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
‘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
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
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
RSS