The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday held a campaign rally to introduce its female nominees for legislator-at-large positions.
Chanting the slogan "women [candidates] account for half of the nominations and we hope the DPP will win over 50 percent of seats in the legislature," five of the party's female nominees for legislator-at-large stood together and declared their resolution to join the next legislature.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The five pledged to create a new voice and viewpoint in the legislature, long seen as a being dominated by men.
"The DPP is the party that cares most about women's political participation in Taiwan," DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
"Our impressive slate of legislator-at-large nominees meets the DPP's promise to women and shows our resolve to maintain a democratic and progressive outlook," Chang said.
Although the DPP is only 18 years old, it is the political party that shows most respect for women, Chang said.
A DPP party clause requires at least one-fourth of its candidates in all local elections be filled by women, he added.
The party also enabled Taiwan to have its first woman vice president and a woman vice premier, he said.
"Hopefully, our excellent female candidates will win more recognition and support from women voters and help the pan-green camp win a majority in the Legislative Yuan," Chang said.
In addition to the former chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council Tsai Ing-wen (
Tsai declined to attend yesterday's rally as she did not want to take attention away from the other nominees, according Ho Chia-ling (
Meanwhile, Chang responded to reports that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) had nominated Olympic taekwondo silver medalist Huang Chih-hsiung (
"We think that the Olympic heroes are great national assets belonging to all the people of Taiwan, not a certain party. And we don't want to taint them with political color," Chang said.
"I think to not nominate these athletes is to show real respect for them," he said.
Chang also denied that the DPP has been in contact with Chen Shih-hsin (陳詩欣) and Chu Mu-yen (朱木炎), gold medalists in taekwondo at the Athens Olympics, to persuade them to join the DPP.
The DPP will help them to achieve success but will not take advantage of their fame, he said.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS