The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday unveiled its legislator-at-large nominees for next year’s election, with Kuma Academy cofounder Puma Shen (沈伯洋) joining party stalwarts Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) and party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) at the top of the list.
The DPP Central Standing Committee finalized and approved the nominees at its regular midweek meeting.
Six men and six women make up the first 12 nominees, considered “safe positions” in winning enough votes to serve as legislators next year.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Legislators-at-large are elected through political party ballots. The New Power Party, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Green Party Taiwan have already decided their nominees, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has delayed its announcement to Sunday.
First on the DPP list is Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation director Lin Yue-chin (林月琴), followed by Shen, a criminology professor at National Taipei University and chairman of Doublethink Lab.
He is also cofounder of the Kuma Academy, a nonprofit civil defense organization that trains people in first aid and media literacy to combat Chinese disinformation.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
“We are facing ever-changing situations in cyberattacks and infiltration from an enemy state, and it is not just the civilians who should prepare to defend Taiwan, but our government must also establish systems to safeguard our nation,” Shen said yesterday.
As a legislator-at-large, he would seek to set up defense networks to combat the cognitive warfare Taiwanese need to guard against, he said.
Third on the list is Taiwan Parks and Playgrounds for Children by Children chairwoman Ariel Chang (張雅琳), followed by Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰), an environmentalist and advocate for renewable energy.
At No. 5 is Malaysia-born Legislator Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲), who represents “new Taiwanese citizen groups,” such as foreigners married to Taiwanese. Lo previously served as a Nantou County councilor before becoming a legislator in 2020.
You is listed at No. 6, followed by Legislator Fan Yun (范雲), a women’s rights advocate, professor of sociology and founder of the Social Democratic Party.
At No. 8 is Ker, who represents Hsinchu City and has served in the legislature for nine consecutive terms over two decades.
Ker is followed by current legislators who represent powerful groups within the DPP: Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) of the New Tide faction, Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) of a faction close to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and DPP spokeswoman Michelle Lin (林楚茵) of the Taiwan Forward Foundation, founded by media tycoon Lin Kun-hai (林崑海), who died last year.
Listed at No. 12 is entertainer and TV show host Jean Kuo (郭昱晴), who is also an artist and author, followed by Hope Foundation for Cancer Care chairman Wang Cheng-hsu (王正旭), who represents medical professionals, and civil engineering professor Wang Yi-chuan (王義川), a popular pundit on TV news and chief strategist at the Taiwan Thinktank.
Notably absent from the list is former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who gained wide appeal for his efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, but lost as the DPP’s candidate in Taipei’s mayoral election last year.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and