Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), who had been tipped as the party’s candidate for New Taipei City mayor in the Nov. 26 local elections, pulled out of consideration yesterday, citing delays in formalizing his nomination.
DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) on May 3 asked Lo, who heads the party’s International Affairs Department, if he would be willing to be the DPP candidate to run against incumbent New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), a source familiar with the matter said.
Lo, a two-term member of the Legislative Yuan representing New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), yesterday confirmed on social media that he had been asked to take up the challenge against the popular Hou, who is seeking a second term.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
However, he has asked the party to rule out his selection, Lo added.
Lo said the party had not officially announced his candidacy, and with less than five months to the election, there is not sufficient time to prepare an effective campaign.
Time was running out for the DPP to mount a productive challenge in the city of 4 million, especially as previous party candidates were given at least six months from their official selection to canvas support across New Taipei City’s 29 districts, Lo said.
“As precious time has been wasted with less than four months until election day, there is no time for New Taipei residents to recognize my sincerity and effort, and that affects my ability to be a mayoral candidate,” he said.
Despite officially selecting candidates for a number of other local elections, the DPP was rumored to be considering its options in New Taipei City, with former minister of transportation and communications Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) among the names the party was considering, DPP sources said.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from