Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday officially signed up for the party’s primary for next year’s presidential election, vowing to defend the nation and look after the public.
Accompanied by Thinking Taiwan Foundation chief executive director Angela Chang (張振亞), Tsai arrived at DPP headquarters in Taipei yesterday morning to register for the party’s primary election.
Tsai filled out the forms and handed over NT$5 million (US$158,856) — a NT$4 million primary registration fee and a NT$1 million opinion poll fee — at the registration counter.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Entering the race for the second time, Tsai said she has traveled extensively around the nation over the past few years and feels that Taiwanese are disappointed with the current political culture, and that there is very little trust in the government’s ability to govern.
Despite suffering and difficulties, most people had not given up, Tsai said, but continue to struggle.
“The strong will of the public is not an excuse for politicians to sit and watch. Instead, someone must stand for the public so they feel that there is someone defending the nation, governing and looking after them,” Tsai said. “I hope I have the opportunity to work for the public.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
She also rejected Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) claims that her policy agenda since the 2012 presidential election has been empty.
“Such criticism shows that the KMT has not really reflected on its failures,” Tsai said. “The KMT has tried to copy my proposals on housing, social and economic policies, but since we have different values and visions, their attempts have not been successful.”
Tsai said it is still too early to discuss her future campaign partner.
In related news, Taipei Veterans’ General Hospital physician and DPP member Kuo Cheng-deng (郭正典) showed up at party headquarters at about 3:45pm yesterday to obtain a copy of the registration form, expressing his wish to sign up for the primary.
However, Kuo said he did not have the NT$5 million registration fee, and called on his friends and anyone who would support him to help him collect the money before today’s registration deadline.
Besides Kuo, two DPP heavyweights — former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) — have previously said that they would not take part in the primary.
REACHING OUT: President Tsai expressed condolences to the deceased man’s family and wished a speedy recovery to those who were wounded in the shooting The Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) on Monday called on the US to label organizations associated with the suspect in the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church shooting as domestic terrorists, following accusations that he was a member of a group backing unification with ties to the Chinese government. David Wenwei Chou (周文偉), 68, was arrested on Sunday and is being held in lieu of US$1 million bail at the Orange County Intake Release Center over a mass shooting at the California church that left one dead and five wounded. Local police suspect the shooting was politically motivated after they found notes in
NO CONSENSUS YET: Local governments and the CECC have agreed to change the ‘3+4’ self-isolation policy, but are still mulling what to replace it with The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and local governments have agreed to ease restrictions on close contacts of COVID-19 cases, although the details are still being discussed, the center said yesterday. The discussions follow Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Saturday approving a proposal to shorten the “3+4” policy — three days of home isolation followed by four days of self-disease prevention — for close contacts who have received booster doses. “We did not reach a consensus on how to revise the current restrictions, but we all agreed that the administrative burden must be reduced and the intensity of restrictions must be eased,
OPPOSING CHINESE ‘HOSTILITY’: The bill orders the state secretary to create a plan to regain observer status for Taiwan, saying Taipei is a model contributor to world health US President Joe Biden on Friday signed a bill into law to help Taiwan regain observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), demonstrating Washington’s support for Taiwan’s international participation. Friday was the deadline for Biden to sign the bill (S.812), which directs “the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization (WHO), and for other purposes.” The 75th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet in Geneva, Switzerland, from Sunday next week to May 28. The bill, introduced by US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate
LIVING WITH COVID-19: Close contacts with a booster shot would no longer follow the ‘3+4’ policy, instead practicing ‘0+7,’ or self-disease prevention for seven days Close contacts of COVID-19 cases who have received a booster shot no longer need to isolate at home, but should practice seven days of “self-disease prevention,” effective today, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that starting at 12am today, close contacts — people living in the same household — of those confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 are exempt from home isolation if they have received a booster shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. Data from other countries show that people who have received a booster shot are