Former secretary-general of the Presidential Office Chen Shih-meng (陳師孟) yesterday came out in support of former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming’s (辜寬敏) bid to become Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman.
The election of the DPP’s new chairperson is not about responding to appeals from specific DPP party members, factions or the “Young Turks,” but is about the expectations and sadness of 5.44 million DPP voters over the party’s failure in the March 22 presidential election, Chen said.
“On that matter, Koo is the one and only candidate,” Chen said.
The other two candidates for the election scheduled for May 18 are former vice premier Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), 52, and DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), 73.
Tsai is backed by the party’s younger generation, which hopes she can transform the party so that it would stand a better chance of winning back voters who have been disappointed by the party’s performance over the last eight years.
Chen said he disagreed with the argument that the party should review its traditional line and move toward the center and closer to swing voters.
“If those are the considerations in choosing a DPP chairperson, we won’t be able to revive the party. We might as well think about the possibility of abandoning the DPP,” Chen said.
Well-known Hakka fiction writer Li Chiao (李喬) also threw his support behind Koo, saying that Tsai was supported by factions of the party, which would make it difficult for her to reform the party’s “factional” politics.
Koo, 82, said he would set up a campaign office next week to demonstrate his determination to win and that Chen would be in charge of his campaign.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) long-term aid Hsu Kuo-yong (徐國勇), a former DPP legislator, also backed Koo’s bid. He said he was not there on behalf of Hsieh.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS