The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is expected to nominate a candidate for next year’s presidential election by the middle of April, party chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said in a radio interview yesterday.
After the registration for the DPP’s nomination closes, the party would host either an event for candidates to present their platforms or a debate before conducting a poll, he said.
In the lead-up to the past two presidential elections, the DPP announced its presidential nominee in April of the preceding year.
Photo: CNA
Sources said that members of the DPP believe the popularity of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who might be seeking re-election, has surged after she issued a firm response to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) speech on Jan. 2 calling for unification under a “one country, two systems” model.
However, media reports said that other DPP members, such as former premier William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), are also potential candidates.
Asked whether Tsai might still name Lai as her running mate — a subject of wild speculation by the media — if the former premier were to propose formal independence, Cho said that Lai is a DPP member and must adhere to the party’s platform and its Resolution on Taiwan’s Future (台灣前途決議文), which clearly states that Taiwan is an independent nation and that any decision to change the “status quo” should be made by Taiwanese voters.
Lai would not “overstep this boundary,” Cho said.
Speaking about future relations between the DPP and independent forces — political parties and politicians outside of the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — Cho said that as the ruling party, the DPP’s goal in next year’s election is to maintain control over the national government.
That means there is “no room for bargaining” and the DPP would definitely be nominating its own presidential candidate, he said.
The DPP could still discuss cooperation with third-party forces in the legislative elections, which will be held simultaneously, but it would nominate a DPP candidate for president, he said.
Asked whether Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) might be named as the DPP nominee’s running mate, Cho said that he believed Ko “has not been preparing” for such a scenario.
Asked whether DPP candidate Ho Chih-wei’s (何志偉) victory in the Taipei legislative by-election on Sunday has boosted his position as party chairman, Cho said that the result was not about individual success.
The outcome allowed the DPP to temporarily strengthen its foothold and gain a better understanding of what to do next, he said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RSS