The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it would not encourage incumbent city or county councilors to run for legislator in next year’s elections.
The statement was part of a nonbinding resolution that the DPP released as its Central Executive Committee approved a plan to establish a strategy division for next year’s presidential and legislative elections.
DPP Chairman William Lai (賴清德) said the resolution excludes several “difficult” constituencies, as well as those that are currently not represented in the legislature.
Lai, who had pushed for the resolution, said that councilors running for legislative seats would be seen as abandoning the people who had voted them into office.
The party listed 16 “difficult” constituencies in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City and Taichung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang counties.
The division would be tasked with assessing members who consider running in the elections and mediating between those seeking to run for the same legislative seat. It would also assess possible collaborations with other parties or independent candidates.
A committee member from the DPP’s Taiwan Forward faction who Lai asked to comment on the plan said that elected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials have run for higher offices shortly after being sworn in during the past few elections.
DPP officials who did the same would be no different from those widely criticized KMT officials, they said.
The member said elected DPP officials vying for higher office should not run for re-election knowing that they would not serve a full term, they added.
Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), both of the KMT, are expected to run for higher office next year, the member said, adding that they support the resolution.
The Taiwan Forward faction was founded by Lin Kun-hai (林崑海), cofounder of SET-TV.
Another DPP member who is seen as aligned with Lai said the resolution is a declaration of principle that sets the DPP apart from the KMT.
However, other committee members criticized the resolution, with some calling it undemocratic, while others said it would block talented politicians from moving upward.
Another member urged the party to encourage fair competition.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to