As the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) gets ready to nominate President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) as its candidate for the March presidential election on Dec. 10, party heavyweights are ready to put their campaign stra-tegy into motion.
A report in the Liberty Times yesterday speculated that Taipei County Commissioner Su Chen-chang (
Although Chang yesterday declined to comment on the structure of the campaign team, he said cooperation among the Presidential Office, the Cabinet and party headquarters has been harmonious.
"The Presidential Office, the Cabinet and party headquarters have always been smooth in liaising with each other. It has been a long-term tacit understanding [among the three bodies] and no one would clash with one another. There has been good teamwork," Chang said.
Chang said 2,000 groups nationwide will be set up to help Chen's re-election bid and Chen will decide whether Su is appointed to head the campaign team.
The president is expected to announce his running-mate on Dec. 13. The major positions on the campaign team are expected to be decided after that date.
"We can't confirm yet whether Su will be the director-general of the campaign team, as it should be decided solely by the presi-dent," Chang said.
Meanwhile, he stressed the party will demand that DPP administration officials strictly follow administrative impartiality during the campaign.
"President Chen has mentioned many times that party officials who have administrative duties should stand by the principle of administrative neutrality. For example, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) has been asked not to participate in campaign activities," Chang said.
"Other executive agencies such as the defense ministry and the Vocational Assistance Commission for Retired Servicemen will be advised not to do so," he said.
Meanwhile, amid the increasing use of negative propaganda by both the DPP and the pan-blue alliance, Chang demanded yesterday that all DPP officials make only accusations based on facts.
DPP Legislator Chang Ching-fang (張清芳) recently alleged that People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had an extramarital affair with his former secretary, Yang Yun-tai (楊雲黛) -- an accusation PFP lawmakers said was groundless.
Chang said the party was concerned about the veracity of any public remarks by DPP officials, who should be careful that their charges are based on facts.
"The DPP will not adopt negative propaganda during the 2004 presidential election [campaign]," Chang said.
Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩), a film by Taiwanese director Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning director Sean Baker, won the Gan Foundation Award for Distribution at the Cannes Critics’ Week on Wednesday. The award, which includes a 20,000 euro (US$22,656) prize, is intended to support the French release of a first or second feature film by a new director. According to Critics’ Week, the prize would go to the film’s French distributor, Le Pacte. "A melodrama full of twists and turns, Left-Handed Girl retraces the daily life of a single mother and her two daughters in Taipei, combining the irresistible charm of
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
88.2 PERCENT INCREASE: The variants driving the current outbreak are not causing more severe symptoms, but are ‘more contagious’ than previous variants, an expert said Number of COVID-19 cases in the nation is surging, with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) describing the ongoing wave of infections as “rapid and intense,” and projecting that the outbreak would continue through the end of July. A total of 19,097 outpatient and emergency visits related to COVID-19 were reported from May 11 to Saturday last week, an 88.2 percent increase from the previous week’s 10,149 visits, CDC data showed. The nearly 90 percent surge in case numbers also marks the sixth consecutive weekly increase, although the total remains below the 23,778 recorded during the same period last year,
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