Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday brushed off speculation over possible vice-presidential contenders for next year’s presidential campaign.
“It’s too early to talk about such things now,” she said in response to reporters’ requests for comment on Tainan Mayor William Lai’s (賴清德) announcement that he would not take part in next year’s presidential election — as a presidential or vice-presidential candidate.
Tsai is seen as the party’s presidential hopeful, though she has yet to formally announce her intention to run.
In the past few weeks, some senior DPP figures, notably former presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏), have shown their support for Lai and encouraged him to run.
However, Lai on Friday said that he would not seek the party’s presidential nomination, adding on Saturday that he would not be a vice presidential candidate either, after Tsai suggested that he should play a role in the election, even if he is not the presidential candidate.
Meanwhile, Tsai yesterday vowed to win at least half of the legislative seats in next year’s legislative elections.
“As the by-elections ... are over, the DPP will now start presenting our own reform proposals for the challenges that the nation faces, and begin to prepare for the next legislative elections,” Tsai said on the sidelines of an event organized by the Thinking Taiwan Foundation in Yilan County. “Our goal is to have the force of our reforms [lead to winning] more than half of the legislative seats.”
Tsai said that the DPP would come up with solutions for every problem the nation faces, so that voters are more confident about putting the DPP in power.
“The DPP will encourage all our capable comrades to take on the task for the party,” she said. “As for those electoral districts that are more challenging for the party, we will also seek to collaborate with other political forces.”
Tsai said that although the DPP did not gain more seats in Saturday’s legislative by-elections, “the number of votes our candidates received in each electoral district has obviously grown,” adding that the party would work harder to gain the trust of voters in Miaoli and Nantou counties.
In the five districts where by-elections were held — Taichung and Miaoli, Nantou, Changhua and Pingtung counties — the DPP retained its seats in Taichung, Changhua and Pingtung, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) kept its seats in Miaoli and Nantou counties.
NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT: An official said that Guan Guan’s comments had gone beyond the threshold of free speech, as she advocated for the destruction of the ROC China-born media influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China content that threatens national security, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday. Guan Guan has said many controversial things in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” while expressing hope for expedited “reunification.” The agency received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification last year. After investigating, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and account for her actions. Guan Guan appeared as required,
Japan and the Philippines yesterday signed a defense pact that would allow the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, food and other necessities when their forces stage joint training to boost deterrence against China’s growing aggression in the region and to bolster their preparation for natural disasters. Japan has faced increasing political, trade and security tensions with China, which was angered by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark that a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a survival-threatening situation for Japan, triggering a military response. Japan and the Philippines have also had separate territorial conflicts with Beijing in the East and South China
A strong cold air mass is expected to arrive tonight, bringing a change in weather and a drop in temperature, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The coldest time would be early on Thursday morning, with temperatures in some areas dipping as low as 8°C, it said. Daytime highs yesterday were 22°C to 24°C in northern and eastern Taiwan, and about 25°C to 28°C in the central and southern regions, it said. However, nighttime lows would dip to about 15°C to 16°C in central and northern Taiwan as well as the northeast, and 17°C to 19°C elsewhere, it said. Tropical Storm Nokaen, currently
PAPERS, PLEASE: The gang exploited the high value of the passports, selling them at inflated prices to Chinese buyers, who would treat them as ‘invisibility cloaks’ The Yilan District Court has handed four members of a syndicate prison terms ranging from one year and two months to two years and two months for their involvement in a scheme to purchase Taiwanese passports and resell them abroad at a massive markup. A Chinese human smuggling syndicate purchased Taiwanese passports through local criminal networks, exploiting the passports’ visa-free travel privileges to turn a profit of more than 20 times the original price, the court said. Such criminal organizations enable people to impersonate Taiwanese when entering and exiting Taiwan and other countries, undermining social order and the credibility of the nation’s
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