Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday downplayed recent comments made by a senior party official suggesting that she could be considered as the party’s candidate for the 2012 presidential elections.
Quizzed about DPP Secretary-General Wu Nai-jen’s (吳乃仁) comments at a media briefing on Wednesday, Tsai said that she had made her aims “very clear.”
“I want to be elected Sinbei City mayor and I want to realize my political goals. I want to turn Sinbei City into a first rate [municipality],” she said. “I will be responsible until the end.”
Photo: Patrick Lin, AFP
Wu said the DPP would not exclude any of the five candidates running for mayor tomorrow when it ponders its nomination for the 2012 presidential campaign.
SIMPLE LOGIC
The DPP’s logic was simple, he said. Whoever is the most likely to win a presidential election, “would most likely be our presidential candidate,” he said.
The comments caused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians to accuse both Tsai and the DPP’s Taipei City mayoral candidate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), of using their municipal campaigns as a springboard to the 2012 presidential election.
Expressing outrage, KMT Sinbei City mayoral candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) said: “Serving the full term is a basic requirement and a sign of respect for voters.”
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday called on voters to understand the intentions of the mayoral candidates and support candidates who were truly committed to the mayorship.
COMMITTED
King said all five KMT candidates would be committed to their voters and finish their four-year terms if elected.
Su dismissed Wu’s comments and pledged his commitment.
“I don’t know what Secretary-General Wu said, but I have already promised Taipei City residents that I will finish my four-year term if elected,” said Su, who has repeatedly denied that it is his intention to join the presidential race as the DPP’s candidate in 2012.
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
WRONG TIMING: The delegation’s trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the global community, Tsai Ing-wen said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan. Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials. The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week. President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic
‘MILITARY PLAYBOOK’: It would have taken far longer for the PLA to put together the drills had they actually been in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit, Joseph Wu said China is using military drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, and its anger over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit is just an excuse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. Speaking in English at a news conference in Taipei, Wu accused China of “gross violations of international law.” “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.” He said the Chinese
RSS