Former premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday registered to run in the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential primary, saying that he could shoulder the responsibility of leading Taiwan in defending itself.
Lai, who stepped down as premier in January following the party’s losses in the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year, said that calls from grassroots DPP supporters led him to contend for the party’s nomination.
The DPP would find itself in an even more precarious position in next year’s presidential election than in the 2008 race, particularly after the party’s heavy losses in the local elections, Lai said.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
DPP supporters are concerned that losing the presidency and a number of legislative seats would put the nation’s sovereignty and democracy at risk, he said.
As a result, many voices have been urging him to “take up the responsibility,” he added.
The legislative by-elections this month showed that the DPP’s base is strong, but Lai said he believes that the party remains in a challenging situation.
Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習進平) is pushing for the annexation of Taiwan, “forcing Taiwan to accept the surrender-like ‘one country, two systems,’” he said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has responded to pressure from China with a proposal to sign a peace treaty, but Lai said that Tibet’s experience with Beijing has taught him that a treaty would not prevent China from trying to annex Taiwan.
“Taiwan will not become a second Hong Kong, a second Tibet,” he said, adding that cross-strait relations are what make next year’s elections so critical.
Lai said that he made his decision to run after the legislative by-elections revealed a crisis in the DPP.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) specifically asked him to “stand in the front lines” during the by-elections, Lai said, adding that the opportunity put him in touch with many people and allowed him to gauge the depth of their concern.
He said that he came to his decision over the past two days.
Lai said he informed Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) prior to his registration and asked her to relay his decision to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who last month in an interview with CNN announced her intention to seek re-election.
Asked whether his decision would cause division in the party, Lai said that the DPP has a primary process that is democratic, not divisive.
If Tsai wins the primary, she would have his support, Lai added.
The president yesterday posted on Facebook that she would register for the DPP primary some time this week.
The president would register for the primary before visiting the Pacific island countries of Palau, Nauru and the Marshall Islands, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said.
Tsai is to visit Palau on Thursday to Saturday and Nauru on March 24 and 25, before arriving in the Marshall Islands on March 26 for the first-ever Pacific Women Leaders’ Coalition Conference, an itinerary released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last week showed.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
A global survey showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese had attained higher education, second only to Canada, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan easily surpassed the global average of 43 percent and ranked ahead of major economies, including Japan, South Korea and the US, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2024 showed. Taiwan has a high literacy rate, data released by the ministry showed. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had 20.617 million people aged 15 or older, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total population, with a literacy rate of 99.4 percent, the data
RSS