Legislator Hsu Tain-tsair (
"I have confidence that I will be able to dismiss [some local party members'] opposition [to my candidacy]. So, let's all work together to win this race," Hsu said yesterday morning in Tainan city.
He added that he would pay a visit to incumbent Tainan Mayor George Chang (
PHOTO: WU HSIN-HWA, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsu's nomination has met with strong protests from some Tainan party members who believe he is a traitor. Some 10 party members -- most of them supporters of Mayor Chang -- yesterday afternoon staged another protest in front of the party's local headquarters. They burned their membership cards to show their disapproval of the party's choice, reiterating that "the party should not have nominated Hsu."
In response to the demonstrators' anger, party officials in Tainan said that "the party allows freedom of expression by all party members."
"However, party discipline will be imposed if they intentionally try to boycott the party's candidate later on," executive director of the party's Tainan Division, Wang Ding-yu (
Wang said that the DPP had made the decision according to its nomination regulations, therefore, "Hsu is a legitimate candidate."
He added that Hsu would also be the party's best choice because local polls held before his nomination found that the DPP could secure 44 percent of the vote in Tainan if they nominated him for mayor.
Wang said that without Hsu, polls showed that the DPP would likely garner 22 percent of the vote in the year-end mayoral election, the KMT 11 percent and the People First Party 10 percent.
Therefore, he added, it was very important for the party to nominate "the right candidate."
In Kaohsiung yesterday DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
"Hsu's nomination was made by the party's highest decision-making body, the Central Executive Committee. Therefore, the party followed democratic procedures [to nominate Hsu] and all party members should support the decision," Hsieh said.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS