The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday rebutted accusations that Lee Chun-yee’s (李俊毅) nomination as the party’s candidate in the Tainan County commissioner race was a result of factional influences.
The accusation was made by former Presidential Office secretary-general Mark Chen (陳唐山), who lost out to Lee on Wednesday. Chen said he would run in the election even without the party’s backing, but would not withdraw from the party.
“It is very irresponsible for anyone who did not get the nomination to besmirch the process,” DPP department of culture and information director Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said, adding that although Chen received the most support in public opinion polls, the party made its choice based on other considerations.
He said that all the contenders were asked to sign an agreement that no matter who won the nomination, the losing contenders would fully support the winner. If necessary, the party would be happy to disclose the document, he said.
Cheng said the nomination was a two-stage process. In the first stage, Lee and his DPP counterparts, Chen and DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津), all proved to be more popular than the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hopefuls.
However, in the second stage, Lee’s experience as a five-term legislator and his strong relations with local voters set him apart from the other two, Cheng said.
Cheng said that the next step was for the party to unite behind Lee.
Yeh declined to comment on her loss, but said that she respected the decision by party headquarters.
Asked for comment, former premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday said the party’s decision to nominate Lee “was inappropriate.”
Yeh Guo-hsin (葉國興), a member of the party’s strategy team, threatened to give up his membership as a protest against Chen’s loss.
Cheng said the party headquarters would try to persuade him to stay if he canceled his membership.
Meanwhile, the KMT said it could delay the nomination of its candidate for Taipei County commissioner, acknowledging the difficulty of finalizing a candidate for the nation’s biggest county.
The KMT announced nine candidates for the year-end county and city government elections on Wednesday. It is scheduled to finalize the candidates for Tainan City, Hsinchu County and Taitung County next month and announce the candidates for the remaining nine cities and counties, including Taipei County, Taoyuan County and Taichung City in June.
Recent disputes over the low approval rate of Taipei County Commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋), however, complicated the situation and made it more challenging for the party to finalize its candidate.
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yi (吳敦義) said yesterday that Taipei County was “too important” for the KMT, and the party would not decide on a final candidate until after a thorough evaluation.
“We could delay the nomination process in cities and counties in which negotiations prove difficult because we have to make sure that we find the best candidates,” Wu said.
Chou kept a low profile yesterday, saying he would focus his efforts on the county’s development.
Nominees for Taitung County and Tainan County have also not been decided. In Taitung County, incumbent commissioner Kuang Li-chen (鄺麗貞) and Taitung County Council Vice Speaker Rao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) have both expressed their determination to run and said that they would not give up even if they lost the primary.
The two hopefuls in Tainan County are KMT Legislator Lee Chuan-chiao (李全教) and former KMT legislator Kuo Tien-tsai (郭添財).
In Nantou County, after the KMT nominated incumbent commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) on Wednesday. Chen Cheng-sheng (陳振盛), the director of Nantou County’s Department of Cultural Affairs, yesterday announced his withdrawal from the KMT so he could run as an independent.
Wu Den-yi said the KMT followed a democratic mechanism in nominating the candidates, urging the members to respect the process and not to violate party regulations.
The party will resort to negotiations if some hopefuls refuse to accept the results of the primaries, he added.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
‘POLITICAL GAME’: DPP lawmakers said the motion would not meet the legislative threshold needed, and accused the KMT and the TPP of trivializing the Constitution The Legislative Yuan yesterday approved a motion to initiate impeachment proceedings against President William Lai (賴清德), saying he had undermined Taiwan’s constitutional order and democracy. The motion was approved 61-50 by lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who together hold a legislative majority. Under the motion, a roll call vote for impeachment would be held on May 19 next year, after various hearings are held and Lai is given the chance to defend himself. The move came after Lai on Monday last week did not promulgate an amendment passed by the legislature that
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
RSS