A confrontation erupted among several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday as legislative candidates accused others of using negative campaigning strategies to harm their chances during the party's legislative primary campaign.
DPP Legislator Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷) -- a former member of the party's disbanded New Tide faction -- yesterday demanded party headquarters refer DPP Legislator Charles Chiang (江昭儀), his constituency rival, to the party's Central Discipline Committee for punishment.
Wei accused Chiang of running an advertisement designed to mislead the public into believing Wei had dropped out of the primary.
PHOTO: CNA
Wei, joined by DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男), showed the press copies of the advertisement in yesterday's Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper).
Facing a telephone poll on Monday, which accounts for 70 percent of each legislative hopeful's final "score," Wei said he had no reason to withdraw from the primary as he had only polled 88 fewer votes than Chiang in the first stage of the primary when party members voted on May 6. The vote accounts for 30 percent of the final score.
DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who lost the legislative nomination in Taipei City's first district to DPP Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅), said like Wei, she had also been victimized during the primary.
DPP Legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌), also a former member of the New Tide faction, attempted to confront Chiang yesterday, who was about to hold a press conference to respond to Wei's allegations, in the DPP caucus press room.
Hong, however, got into a verbal confrontation with Wang Shih-cheng, who was defending Chiang.
The fracas carried on after DPP caucus whip Wang Tuoh (王拓) came to Wei's aid in the argument, continuing even after caucus assistants tried to calm the situation by turning off the lights.
Wei, accompanied by Wang Tuoh, then tried to plead his case at party headquarters, but they were denied a meeting with the party's deputy secretary-general.
Speaking in his defense, Chiang said it was his supporters who placed the advertisement, adding that he did not know of the ad's content in advance.
Chiang then proceeded to the Taipei District Court to file defamation charges against Wei and Hsiao. After he arrived, he knelt down to beg former New Tide faction members not to "bully" him.
In related news, several DPP legislators yesterday voiced their dissatisfaction with the party's legislator-at-large name list, which was announced on Thursday.
The first four male nominees on the DPP's line-up were DPP Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), former minister of the Department of Health Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) and Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬).
Council of Hakka Affairs Vice Minister Chiu Yi-ying (
Wang Tuoh yesterday said the list "did not live up to the public's expectations."
Wang said the party should not expect the list to become an advantage for the DPP, adding that "the list is not ideal enough" and it may have a negative impact on the party's electoral outlook in next year's presidential election.
DPP Legislator Hsu Jung-shu (許榮淑), who failed to secure a legislator-at-large nomination, told the press that she felt "empty inside" after seeing the list.
"The DPP became the ruling party from the opposition. Shouldn't we be more progressive? But after I saw the list, honestly this is a setback," she said.
"The legislator-at-large nomination list is not a dream list, but a disappointing one," she said. "I can't help but question if the DPP really has the ability to engage in introspection, especially after so many talented party members lost during the primary."
Commenting on the party's nominations for legislator-at-large yesterday, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the primary results could never satisfy everyone, adding that the party hopes harmony could be maintained between those who won and lost so they can all work together for the good of the party's presidential campaign.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai