The presence of DPP heavyweight Luo Wen-chia (
"There is never an easy election battle, but Luo's joining the race will certainly make the competition keener," Lin Chung-mo (
Luo -- a leading DPP campaign strategist, longtime aide to President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and vice chairman of the Council for Cultural Affairs -- officially announced on Sunday that he would resign from his Cabinet post to run in the December elections. Luo plans to stand for a seat representing the northern part of Taipei.
As a heavyweight political figure with longstanding close relations with Chen, Luo's decision poses a threat to his party comrades who plan to court the same constituency.
Lin said the first obstacle for legislative hopefuls was the primary contest, which is comprised of two parts: opinion polls and the votes of party members. Opinion polls account for 70 percent of a candidate's score, while member votes account for 30 percent.
"Luo will enjoy an overwhelming advantage in the opinion polls due to his high public popularity," Lin said.
Incumbent DPP lawmaker Cho Jung-tai (
"Being a renowned public figure, Luo is very likely to get so many votes as to edge out other party members who are not as notable," Cho said.
Luo said during a radio interview yesterday that the reason he chose to run in Taipei was because he was able to communicate with younger voters, and because "some political issues draw more attention when discussed in the city."
Luo said that the DPP could not expand its turf if it stuck to its loyal base of supporters, adding there was plenty of room to attract new votes to the party.
While he welcomed Luo's decision to join the race, Liu I-te (劉一德), director of the DPP's department of organizational development, said he was worried. He said it was possible the heavyweight would draw too many votes from other DPP candidates in the December elections -- thus giving a seat to the opposition that could otherwise be held by a DPP member.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS