Next month’s referendums would determine the direction of Taiwan’s development, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday at its National Congress.
As the Dec. 18 poll approaches, the party convened its congress to affirm its opposition to all four referendum questions and urge the public to “lend a hand” in stabilizing the nation’s direction.
On the ballot are to be proposals calling for a ban on the importation of pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine, the activation of the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, the relocation of a planned liquefied natural gas terminal from Datan Borough (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) and for referendums to be held alongside elections.
Photo: CNA
Protecting the nation’s sovereignty and safeguarding freedom and democracy have always been the party’s guiding values, which it has firmly upheld since taking office in 2016, the DPP said.
Even when challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and diplomatic interference, the government has remained steadfast in its beliefs and slowly, but surely strengthened the nation, it said.
“As the world recognizes Taiwan, we must strive to align ourselves with the world” by joining regional trade groups, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the DPP added.
In her capacity as DPP chairperson, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said the theme of this year’s congress, “Stable Governance, Powerful Taiwan,” is precisely the mission bestowed on the party at this juncture.
The DPP turned 35 this year, an age full of passion, but with enough experience to take on large responsibilities, she said.
As people do not owe the DPP anything, the party must do its best to prove it is worthy of their trust and confidence, she added.
The congress also approved a proposal by the party’s Central Executive Committee to forgo primaries for next year’s local elections, except for cities or counties that have been governed continuously by DPP incumbents for two terms.
According to the rule, which is to apply only to next year’s local elections, Tsai is to nominate mayoral candidates for the six special municipalities, while the committee is to vote on their confirmation.
Incumbent DPP mayors and county commissioners who seek re-election must also be approved by Tsai and confirmed by the committee.
Party hopefuls making a bid to unseat a non-DPP mayor or commissioner would be nominated by Tsai and determined in closed-door negotiations, it said.
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
‘BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS’: The US military’s aim is to continue to make any potential Chinese invasion more difficult than it already is, US General Ronald Clark said The likelihood of China invading Taiwan without contest is “very, very small” because the Taiwan Strait is under constant surveillance by multiple countries, a US general has said. General Ronald Clark, commanding officer of US Army Pacific (USARPAC), the US Army’s largest service component command, made the remarks during a dialogue hosted on Friday by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Asked by the event host what the Chinese military has learned from its US counterpart over the years, Clark said that the first lesson is that the skill and will of US service members are “unmatched.” The second
STANDING TOGETHER: Amid China’s increasingly aggressive activities, nations must join forces in detecting and dealing with incursions, a Taiwanese official said Two senior Philippine officials and one former official yesterday attended the Taiwan International Ocean Forum in Taipei, the first high-level visit since the Philippines in April lifted a ban on such travel to Taiwan. The Ocean Affairs Council hosted the two-day event at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center. Philippine Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Coast Guard spokesman Grand Commodore Jay Tarriela and former Philippine Presidential Communications Office assistant secretary Michel del Rosario participated in the forum. More than 100 officials, experts and entrepreneurs from 15 nations participated in the forum, which included discussions on countering China’s hybrid warfare
MORE DEMOCRACY: The only solution to Taiwan’s current democratic issues involves more democracy, including Constitutional Court rulings and citizens exercising their civil rights , Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is not the “motherland” of the Republic of China (ROC) and has never owned Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. The speech was the third in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to deliver across Taiwan. Taiwan is facing external threats from China, Lai said at a Lions Clubs International banquet in Hsinchu. For example, on June 21 the army detected 12 Chinese aircraft, eight of which entered Taiwanese waters, as well as six Chinese warships that remained in the waters around Taiwan, he said. Beyond military and political intimidation, Taiwan
RSS