To snare a pan-green camp majority in December's legislative elections, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) will adopt a conservative strategy, limiting the number of its nominations while seeking cooperation with its partner, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU).
In a meeting on Friday discussing the number of lawmakers to be nominated, the DPP's legislative election campaign strategy team decided the party would not compete head-on with its TSU counterparts, a scenario that might otherwise result in unnecessary losses for the pan-green camp.
The DPP's strategy is to secure at least 10 seats more than the basic majority of 113 seats. The 123 seats would include legislators from each pan-green camp force, including the DPP, the TSU and independents.
The party therefore decided to nominate 92 legislative candidates for local constituencies in the expectation that around 80 of these could be elected.
Factoring in lawmakers-at-large, allocated according to the percentage of the vote received by the party, the DPP would then gain another 20 seats. The DPP is therefore aiming for 100 seats, which, when added to independents' seats and the 20 seats the TSU expects to win, would fulfill the party's goal of gaining a solid majority in the legislature.
DPP Deputy Secretary General Lee Ying-yuan (
Based on this support, Lee said, nominations for lawmaker for the December election had increased from the previous figure of 83 to 92.
In the 2001 legislative election, 69 out of the 83 candidates were elected.
However, Lee noted that even with the growth in pan-green support, the party had still decided to adopt a conservative approach with the number of nominees in order to avoid excessive competition with the TSU.
"We want to continue this collaborative yet competitive relationship with the TSU, which has worked out very well over the past three years. That's why we highly respect the TSU in expanding its number of nominations," Lee said.
Chen Chun-lin (
"Southern Taiwan is seen as the DPP's iron-clad vote. The DPP virtually hit a home run there three years ago when almost all of our candidates were elected," Chen said.
"This time around, however, it will be difficult to expand the vote for the legislative election. That's why we thought it would be better for the party to be discreet in increasing the number of nominations," he said.
In addition to adjusting the number of legislator nominees out of consideration of the TSU's interests, the DPP has also proposed establishing a group to integrate the campaign strategies of the parties.
Vote allocation
DPP legislative caucus whip Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) yesterday suggested the party establish a mechanism to coordinate and integrate campaign tactics, including campaign materials and "vote allocations" between the partners.
The vote-allocation strategy refers to voters casting their ballots according to party instructions. For example, voters might cast their votes for one of two DPP or TSU candidates according to the last digit of their personal ID numbers. The strategy aims to distribute votes evenly between candidates and thus maximize the number of seats that can be won.
Tsai said the DPP and the TSU should not compete with one another to gain the most votes for an individual candidate; rather, he said, they should work together to gain the highest number of seats for the pan-green camp.
To achieve that, Tsai said the campaign managers of both parties would form a committee to resolve tensions or diverging interests between the two parties' candidates.
The DPP's nomination strategy has been approved by the TSU, which plans to nominate no more than 39 lawmakers, the same number of candidates the party nominated in 2001.
TSU Deputy Secretary General Chen Horng-chi (
"We respect the DPP's nomination strategy and we will work closely together in order to enable the pan-green camp to gain a solid majority in the legislature," he said.
Chen Horng-chi also said that the campaign and vote-allocation strategies proposed by the DPP reflected increasing cooperation between the two parties.
On the issue of a campaign theme, the TSU said it would focus on the forging of Taiwanese identity and the elevation of a Taiwan-based awareness.
To avoid running on a platform too similar to that of the DPP, TSU legislative caucus whip Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) yesterday said Taiwanese identity was something both parties could agree on, but that the TSU would maintain its own position on certain issues.
Ethnic conflict
Chen Chien-ming's comments were in response to the prediction of a number of DPP lawmakers that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) would neutralize the party's interpretation of "localization" to mend conflicts between the Hoklo (more commonly known as "Taiwanese") and Mainlander groups.
Chen Chien-ming said the TSU supported the broader sense of "Taiwanese identity" that includes all ethnic groups. However, the TSU would stand firm on its opposition to China.
For example, he said the party would oppose the government's policy allowing Taiwan's 8-inch wafer manufacturers and advanced semiconductor package-and-testing companies to invest in China.
On nominating lawmakers, Chen Chien-ming said the TSU would focus its strengths in the south of the country, while the DPP would work on northern Taiwan. This way, he said, the parties could complement each other's efforts.
Chen's remarks echoed DPP statements that the ruling party would focus its efforts on increasing its vote in northern and central Taiwan where the party has shown encouraging growth in support.
Meanwhile, Chen Horng-chi yesterday denied media speculation that the party would invite some media and political figures to join its election campaign. Names raised in media reports include Annie Lee (李安妮), the daughter of TSU spiritual leader and former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Wang Ben-hu (汪笨湖), host of the hugely successful pro-independence call-in show Taiwan Voice, and former health minister Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲).
Chen Horng-chi dismissed the reports as speculation, saying that the party hadn't been in contact with any of these people.
However, Chen Chien-ming yesterday told reporters that Wang, who enjoys considerable popularity in the south, had indeed been asked if he were interested in running in the legislative election. He said Wang had declined to run, but had expressed interest in running in the next Kaohsiung mayoral election.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the