Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials yesterday called for unity after public polls confirmed DPP Legislator Chou Chun-mi (周春米) as the party’s nominee for Pingtung County commissioner in November’s election.
Chou received the most support among county residents at 58.98 percent in a one-on-one contest against potential Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate and former legislator Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), who polled at 12.66 percent, figures from three polls showed.
Incumbent Pingtung legislators Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) and Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) trailed closely behind Chou with 51.64 and 44.87 percent support respectively.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
The polls were conducted over two days by two public survey companies along with the DPP, contacting 3,600 county residents.
Upon winning the party’s nomination, Chou thanked local groups, politicians and residents for their support, and promised to prioritize economic development if she wins.
‘FIERCE COMPETITION’
“We have finished this fierce competition for the party’s nomination, but it is part of the democratic process. Now that the preliminary race is over, I am seeking cooperation and support from our two fellow party members,” she said. “I must consolidate all support within our party to give Pingtung a brighter future, and together we can win the county commissioner’s office.”
News reports called the campaign the most intense party showdown in Pingtung history, with each candidate enjoying strong local support and receiving endorsements from influential DPP members, reportedly leading to dissent among the DPP’s southern base.
Political commentators said the contest had manifested an internal schism, with Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) backing Chou — both are members of the party’s New Tide faction — while former county commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻) supported Chung.
INFIGHTING
Chuang had branded himself a strong supporter of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), with backing from former Pingtung county commissioner and legislative speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全).
During campaigning in January, Chuang sparked party infighting after saying that Chou was collaborating with the KMT, referring to the backing Chou reportedly received from Pingtung County Council Speaker Chou Tien-lun (周典論) and former speaker Cheng Ching-shui (程清水), as well as other local KMT leaders.
Chou Chun-mi, a former district court judge, comes from a family rooted in Pingtung politics, with her father, Chou Hui-huang (周輝煌), serving as a KMT county councilor in the 1970s, political commentators said.
Chung last week demanded a full accounting of Chou Chun-mi’s campaign expenses, suggesting that Pan had provided public resources to support her.
UNITY CALL
Leading DPP figures called for party unity and to work together to win the election in November.
“All three candidates are outstanding for the DPP, but regrettably only one can emerge as the winner,” Pan said. “We hope they can settle their differences and uphold the principles that led them to join the party.”
“We can only achieve victory for Pingtung when working as a team,” he added. “I can be certain that she [Chou Chun-mi] will become the first female commissioner for our county.”
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS