Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed optimism about the party’s chances in next month’s three-in-one local elections, saying the DPP was expected to retain its grip on Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung counties.
In a radio interview on Thursday, Tsai said recent polls showed a strong lead for DPP candidates in the three counties, while the candidate in Yilan County enjoyed a narrow lead over his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterpart and there was hope for the DPP candidate in Taitung County.
“Overall, the situation for the DPP is moving in a positive direction, but close observation is still needed to see whether we can maintain this lead up to polling day,” Tsai said. “It would be disappointing if the DPP fails to hold on to power in Yunlin, Chiayi and Pingtung counties.”
PHOTO: CHANG TSUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
SUPPORT
Tsai also spoke for the first time in public in support of Chang Chih-ming (張志明), an independent candidate for Hualien County, saying that the battle in Hualien was not about winning, but about choosing a good county commissioner.
While declining to predict the election results, Tsai said the biggest variable in local elections was vote-buying and that the key to winning lay in preventing bribery.
To that end, the DPP’s legislative caucus has already purchased video-taping equipment, she said.
More than 800 suspected cases of vote-buying in the run-up to the local elections for mayors and magistrates, city and county councilors and city and township heads have been reported as of last Sunday, of which 13 are under investigation, the Ministry of Justice said.
Next month’s elections will be held in 17 cities and counties only. Six cities and counties — Taipei County, Taichung City, Taichung County, Tainan City, Tainan County and Kaohsiung County — that will be upgraded or merged into municipalities will not elect new chiefs until late next year.
Asked whether she would run for a mayoral position in one of the new municipalities, Tsai said it was too early to discuss the matter, but added: “While sometimes the party chair might not be the best candidate, there are times when it is the chair’s responsibility to stand up and play the game.”
She urged party members who intend to run for mayoral positions in the new municipalities to first work together to win the upcoming local elections before sitting down to discuss the matter.
SPLIT
Tsai was referring to a recent dispute between Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), both of whom look set to vie for the DPP ticket for the Kaohsiung municipal elections next year, when Kaohsiung County is merged with Kaohsiung City.
Yang accused Chen of releasing a poll survey showing that both Chen’s support rate and satisfaction rate were higher than Yang’s.
Chen denied the accusation, saying she had not published any public opinion polls.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS