The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has set a goal of winning 45 to 50 seats in the new 113-member legislature, as it tries to woo independent voters in the final week of the campaign before the legislative elections on Saturday.
The new single-member district and two-vote system (
DPP officials said the party would emphasize non-political issues in the final week of the campaign to appeal to an estimated 30 percent of voters who remain undecided, highlighting the DPP's image as an advocate for the disadvantaged, native culture, systematic reform and progress and democracy.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
In Taipei City, where a total of eight seats are up for grabs in eight voting districts, incumbent Wang Shih-cheng (
In Taipei County, where 12 seats are being contested, incumbents Lin Shu-fen (
DPP candidates are neck and neck with their opponents in the other districts, DPP officials said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is expected to dominate in northern Taiwan, while the DPP should win most of its seats in the south.
In Chiayi City, pan-green forces are also split, with DPP incumbent Sandy Yen (莊和子) forced to fight off a challenge by the Taiwan Solidarity Union's Ling Tzu-chu (凌子楚) and pan-blue opponents.
In Chiayi County, normally a DPP stronghold, incumbent Chang Hua-kuan (張花冠) in the 2nd district has a slight lead over her rivals, but incumbent Tsai Chi-fang (蔡啟芳) will need to come from behind in the 1st district to retain his seat.
The DPP is optimistic it will sweep the three seats up for grabs in Tainan County, where its candidates have held steady leads over their rivals and said incumbent William Lai (
In southernmost Pingtung County, the DPP said it stood a good chance of seizing two of the three seats available.
The elections will mark the first time the single-member district, two-vote system is used. Past legislatures were composed of multiple representatives from individual districts, with lawmakers able to win seats with as little as 5 percent of votes.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS