President Chen Shui-bian (
The arrangement was made after Hsieh, the incumbent seeking re-election, extended the invitation to the ex-president after their meeting in Kaohsiung on Sunday.
The party wants to make use of Lee's popularity in the region to help beef up Hsieh's reportedly declining public support.
Hsieh, the forerunner for months, is experiencing a tough time in the final moments of the campaign after PFP chairman James Soong (
According to Michael You (游盈隆), the DPP's deputy secretary general, Hsieh is still leading the polls by around 10 percent, but the lead is narrowing after the pan-blue camp threw its support behind one candidate.
But a survey conducted by the DPP was the only one that indicated Hsieh was still the forerunner. Other polls done by the TVBS news channel and two Chinese-language newspapers all showed that Huang has slight lead.
In contrast to Hsieh's situation, Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), the DPP's candidate for Taipei mayor, is facing an even tougher battle in Taipei as incumbent Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) popularity remains high.
The DPP is poised to make a last-ditch effort to campaign for Lee as Chen, first lady Wu Shu-chen (
Chen is expected to stump for Lee Ying-yuan on Thursday and Friday, whereas Wu will campaign for him on Friday.
Lee Ying-yuan said he still would still welcome Lee Teng-hui to stump for him, regardless of a warning by Fan Chen-tsung (范振宗), the head of the Council of Agriculture, who left his position yesterday.
Fan said that Lee Ying-yuan should not invite the ex-president to stump for him because it might have a negative impact on the candidate's showing.
The former president stumped for Lee Ying-yuan for the first time on Saturday, which drew a rally of approximately 10,000 supporters.
But insiders in the DPP admitted that the appearance of Lee Teng-hui did little to help Lee's sluggish popularity.
Initially Fan had arranged to stump for Lee Ying-yuan today, but the plan was dropped after he made the statements.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and