Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday hosted the launch of her regional campaign headquarters in Taipei City, where she pledged to make living in Taipei affordable for less well-off people and young adults.
Tsai said if she were elected president she would accomplish her goal by instigating state-initiated urban renewal and building social housing to turn Taipei into a city with justice in housing, as well as encouraging a caring society in which people would help each other.
“I will be the president if everyone of us works hard together — we will win this election,” Tsai said to the crowd of supporters who rallied at the site.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kung, Taipei Times
DPP heavyweights, including former premiers Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), former Examination Yuan president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) and Taiwan Hakka Society chairman Chang Yeh-sen (張葉森), also took part in the rally where the excited crowd shouted “Little Ing (小英) will win!”
DPP spokesman Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said the party began its presidential campaign with the objective to move northward across the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪), which separates Yunlin and Changhua counties, and now that the party is in a winning position there, it would move up to the Da-an River (大安溪), which is the northern end of Greater Taichung City.
“We are about to challenge the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] and take the Tamsui River (淡水河),” he said.
In her speech at the launch ceremony, Tsai said she grew up in Taipei City, which has residents from different ethnic backgrounds who earn a living doing different jobs.
Taipei played an important role in the DPP’s early stages, so there’s no reason for the party to move into a disadvantaged position in the city, she said, urging supporters to help make the DPP the dominant party in Taipei.
She added that Taipei has, however, become a city in which only the rich can afford to live and this is different from how she remembers the city of her childhood.
She said that both the wealthy and the economically disadvantaged should be able to live in Taipei and enjoy the convenience of the city. In addition, the elderly, young people and the disadvantaged should also be able to have a place in Taipei. She said that she would strive to make Taipei a city of tolerance.
Many people have complained that Taipei residents are cold, Tsai said, but Taipei residents can be warmhearted, too.
Tsai promised that if elected, she would develop an elderly care network, so that the state could help take care of families who could not afford to take care of their elderly members or children. Each community should have a community care network, she said.
Meanwhile, at a separate setting yesterday, while campaigning for KMT legislative candidate Chiang Hui-chen (江惠貞) in New Taipei City (新北市), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking re-election, continued to attack Tsai over the DPP’s legislator-at-large list.
He asked how voters could have faith in Tsai’s governance if she were elected when the list and her campaign team included people who had been involved in court cases.
Ma fired the same criticism at Tsai during Saturday’s first televised presidential debate, in which Tsai responded by saying that “the entire team should not be judged by the acts of a few.”
“If we are talking about the behavior of individuals, then I would like to ask President Ma how many people in the KMT have been involved in election irregularities or vote-buying,” Tsai said in her response to Ma in the debate.
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
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft