In the face of strong opposition from the party's local factions, the ruling DPP's Central Executive Committee yesterday agreed to call upon independent legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (
The decision, however, was immediately and strongly opposed by party members from the Tainan Division, who staged a protest at the DPP's Taipei headquarters.
PHOTO: LEE HUNG-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
The demonstrators threw eggs, waved banners and burst into the headquarters where they vented their anger, yelling, "We strongly oppose the party's decision to call upon Hsu," and, "The party has ignored the voices of local party members."
After learning of the protests against him, Hsu, however, appealed to the people of Tainan to give him a "second chance."
"Don't let resentment, which arose from past elections and the growth of factions, overshadow our cooperation. There is no issue on which we cannot be reconciled since we share the same political mission," Hsu said at a press conference yesterday afternoon, adding, "It's good to be back home."
Hsu, who has recently re-registered as a DPP member, yesterday said that he could sympathize with the protesters' anger, but that he hoped they would give "political idealists" like himself a chance to strive for a better future for the DPP.
Hsu, a former DPP member who left the party in 1995 to run in the legislative elections as an independent legislator, was defeated in Tainan's 1997 mayoral election by the party's candidate, George Chang (張燦鍙). A close friend and former classmate of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), Hsu refused to endorse Chen in last year's presidential election. As a result, many view him as a traitor to the party and he has especially annoyed party members in Tainan.
But Hsu's performance in the legislature has enabled him to regain the party leadership's trust, especially following Chen's hint that the party would nominate any candidates who stood a good chance of winning the election.
Brushing aside protesters' concerns, the party's deputy secretary general Hsu Yang-ming (
He said that DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
He added that heads of the party's Tainan headquarters had also been invited to attend the Central Executive Committee meeting to present their views.
"All considerations were taken into account and the decision at the CEC meeting was reached unanimously," Hsu Yang-ming said at a press conference after the meeting.
Hsu Yang-ming added that one of the protesters supported DPP legislator Lai Ching-te (
Incumbent Tainan Mayor Chang, who is in custody on corruption charges, is likely to try to run for a second term. He has argued that to do so would be the only way to clear his name, but he will now have to run as a non-DPP candidate.
The Central Executive Committee yesterday also agreed to ask Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), mayor of Keelung, to seek reelection to his post and national baseball star Chen Yi-hsin (陳義信) to run for a DPP seat as an aboriginal legislator.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS