Thu, Nov 16, 2023 page2

• DPP unveils legislator-at-large list, with Kuma Academy’s Puma Shen

  • By Chen Yun and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
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  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.

  

  Taiwan Parks and Playgrounds for Children by Children chairwoman Ariel Chang holds a sign in an undated photograph.

  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.

  

  Kuma Academy cofounder Puma Shen gives a lecture at a conference in Taipei on July 27. He has been nominated as a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator-at-large candidate for next year’s election.

  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.
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