People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday pledged to regain the party’s influence in the legislature as he announced 10 candidates that will represent the PFP in January’s legislative elections, while remaining vague about whether he would run for president.
Leading the 10 candidates in declaring the PFP’s determination to obtain at least three seats in the next legislature to form a caucus, Soong said the PFP aimed to push for a “quiet revolution” that would end bipartisan confrontation in the legislature and make the public’s needs the priority.
Former independent legislator Li Ao (李敖), who will represent the PFP in Taipei City’s Wenshan (文山)-Zhongzheng (中正) electoral district, joined Soong in challenging the partisan culture in the legislature, saying power struggles between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) paralyze it.
“There are too many bills lying on the legislative floor that haven’t been handled and it’s been unbearable that the KMT and the DPP have cheated us for so long ... This time I will collaborate with James Soong and the PFP in the election so that the PFP caucus can do something for the people,” Li said.
He also urged Soong to join the presidential election as a way to promote the party’s candidates in the legislative elections.
Soong, who has said in several interviews that he will either join the presidential or legislative races, did not announce his decision at the press conference, insisting that helping the PFP win seats in the legislature was more important.
“It takes people, money and other objective conditions to run for the presidency,” Soong said. “It’s better to end the negative reputation of our legislature for incompetence before discussing which position James Soong should be in.”
Comparing himself to former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping (鄧小平) and former British prime minister Winston Churchill, who both went through ups and downs in their political careers, Soong urged supporters to give him more time to make a decision on the matter.
When asked whether he would meet with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Soong said that the KMT and PFP should exchange ideas via meetings between the parties’ secretaries-general and that a meeting with Ma was unnecessary.
Soong’s possible presidential bid has also been seen as a potential spoiler for Ma, who is facing a tight race against DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
At a separate setting yesterday, Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, said his party respected the PFP’s presentation of its own legislative candidates, but added that the KMT still hoped to work with the PFP on legislative nominations.
Presiding over the KMT’s Central Standing Committee, Ma said the KMT never intended to dissuade PFP candidates and that KMT-PFP cooperation remained the party’s goal.
Facing a split in the pan-blue camp, KMT Secretary-General Liao Liao-yi (廖了以) said the president was still willing to meet with Soong to discuss cooperation between the two parties and urged the PFP to consider the overall situation and meet its supporters’ expectations of a united pan-blue camp in the elections.
The PFP said it would release the names of more legislative nominees as it hopes to win at least 5 percent of the vote — the threshold for securing legislator-at-large seats — in the legislative elections.
The DPP, meanwhile, said it respected the PFP’s decision to take part in the elections as the right to political participation is protected by the Constitution.
The new development would not affect the DPP’s legislative campaign strategy and tempo, DPP spokesperson Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
While most people see the division in the pan-blue camp as an opportunity and an advantage for the main opposition party, DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that was not necessarily the case because the PFP would try to attract anti-Ma voters, which means the DPP could also end up losing votes.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CHRIS WANG
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from