Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday registered her candidacy for the Jan. 14 presidential election, saying her confidence in winning the election has grown because of increased nationwide support.
“I believe we will win and we will win because we have you,” Tsai told thousands of jubilant supporters at her campaign headquarters in Banciao District (板橋), New Taipei City (新北市), yesterday morning before completing the final registration procedure in downtown Taipei.
Tsai showed the registration form to the media in a packed registration room at the Central Election Commission with her running mate, Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), standing beside her as she formally began her quest to become Taiwan’s first female president.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Several female public servants, who were on duty, took the opportunity to take photographs of Tsai and chanted “Way to go, Chairperson Tsai” as Tsai was leaving the building.
Security for Tsai and Su tightened immediately after their registration, with the National Security Bureau taking over.
Tsai did not make any public comments before or after the registration, but delivered a speech in Banciao.
Tsai, who almost always speaks in a serious and scholarly tone, showed her softer side with three short stories.
She talked about how she held the hand of DPP member Lin Lung-cheng (林龍成) in hospital on Tuesday and told him that the party was determined to win. Lin passed away shortly after.
She talked about how Fang Mei-chin (方美津), former president of the Eastern Taiwan Society, made a fundraising pitch to doctors and nurses for the DPP when she visited the intensive-care unit.
She also talked about how several Aborigines in a remote village in Hualien County reached her campaign headquarters by foot to show their support.
“It is people like these who have made me more determined than ever to win the presidential election, because we, the DPP, shoulder a lot of the expectations of so many Taiwanese,” she said.
Turning to the DPP’s highly publicized “three little pigs” fund-raising campaign, Tsai officially named the three pigs “Sunshine” (陽光), “Warmth” (溫暖) and “Tolerance” (包容).
The red piggy bank was given the name of Sunshine, she said, because the campaign was inspired by three children in Greater Tainan, where there is abundant sunshine.
She named the green piggy bank “Warmth” for the passion and support of her supporters across the nation.
As for the blue piggy bank, “I understand why some of our supporters have a problem with the color [as it reminds people of the pan-blue camp], but that is why I named it ‘Tolerance,’” Tsai said, adding: “We have to work with everyone in this country toward a better future.”
Taiwanese can only deal with the many challenges ahead by promoting social harmony and through consolidation, she said.
“These challenges are a responsibility that we must shoulder for the next generation,” she said.
In response to Tsai’s pledge to run the presidential campaign with warmth and tolerance, KMT spokesperson Lai Su-ju (賴素如) called on Tsai to reflect on the DPP’s “smear campaign” against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and its accusations that the two had misused public funds for a government-sponsored musical.
Lai said the former head of the Council for Cultural Affairs, Emile Sheng (盛治仁), was in charge of the musical and that plans for the project, including its budget, were already finalized when Sheng presented a report to Ma at a Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee meeting.
Ma and Wu had no previous knowledge of the budget and did not authorize the project, she said.
In fact, Wu was not even at the committee meeting that day, she said.
“The DPP should not portray Tsai as a refreshing and tolerant candidate on one hand, and use smear tactics against the KMT on the other,” she said.
Lai said the KMT would continue its efforts to run a positive campaign and that it expects the campaign to focus on debates on policies.
Additional reporting by Mo Yan-chih
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned