Three opposition nominees for the Taipei County commissioner's election will meet to try and agree on a single candidate to represent the opposition alliance.
Holding opinion polls on the question has been suggested as a way to decide the matter, but the nominees still differ on the technical details of the proposed exercise.
Meeting of the nominees
PFP Deputy Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (
Chin yesterday said, "I would accept the opinion-poll proposal if the polls are designed in such a way as to measure the nominees' potential to win, and not only their level of fame."
Chin argued that the chosen candidate must win the support of neutral voters and not merely supporters of the opposition alliance. He also said a key factor should be the candidate's ability to unite local political factions, Chin said.
Chin proposed that in addition to the approval ratings of the individual nominees, the polls should take into account the approval ratings of their parties and policy platforms.
He added that he would prefer conducting the polls well after the nominees have hit the campaign trail.
According to a number of polls released to date, Chin's approval ratings have lagged behind his two opposition rivals.
While the incumbent commissioner, the DPP's Su Tseng-chang (
Wang, who has stated explicitly that he would not run without the endorsement of both the KMT and PFP, said yesterday that he would abide by any mutual party decision on how the polls are conducted.
The KMT and PFP planned to cooperate in a total of six localities, but so far such cooperation has not been forthcoming. The New Party originally had no intention of taking part in the plan.
Politicians from the alliance have urged leaders of the three parties to meet immediately to resolve the deadlock.
Chao Shou-po (
If the opposition can agree on plans to cooperate in elections for county commissioners and city mayors, the alliance should be able to win more than half the posts up for grabs, Chao said.
Bad blood
However, Chang Hsien-yao (
Chang added that the atmosphere for cooperation was seriously damaged after Hsieh repeatedly attacked the PFP.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)