Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) dropped out of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairmanship race yesterday, saying his decision had met the expectations of independence supporters.
A close aide to Chai, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Taipei Times that Chai thought it would be for the best if he and former senior presidential adviser Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) could reach a deal on a single candidate because they are both die-hard independence activists.
However, with Koo showing no sign of backing down, Chai had no choice but to withdraw, the aide said.
Besides, as Koo is many years Chai’s senior, it was only proper for Chai to pull out and it was the expectation of pro-independence heavyweights to see only one of them vie for the position, the aide said.
But the aide denied the two men had struck a deal and said that Chai would stump for Koo and would not serve as Koo’s deputy if Koo was elected.
Koo’s campaign told reporters that the two men met yesterday to discuss the issue and then decided to “respond positively to members’ concern over the party’s future development.”
Koo and Chai are scheduled to make a joint announcement early today.
Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), director of the DPP’s Culture and Information Department, said that the election will be held on Sunday as scheduled and Chai will not get his NT$1.5 million (US$49,000) deposit back.
Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), the other candidate for the DPP’s top job, called for party factions to cooperate yesterday.
She said all sides should work together to help the party select candidates for next year’s mayoral and county comissioners elections.
Tsai said the party can no longer feel sorry for itself following its recent losses. She pledged to reform the party’s structure if elected, and take advantage of the party’s experience over the past eight years to make it more “combative.”
To solicit more support for the party, she said she would like to see the DPP allocate more resources to local governments controlled by the party.
Tsai made the remarks when she visited the DPP chapter in Keelung City yesterday morning.
While chapter members harshly criticized the party, especially factional infighting and corruption, Tsai said factions were indeed a problem but she thought they could cooperate. One way to curb factional infighting was to examine the party’s nomination system, she said.
Tsai also promised to closely monitor the performance of the incoming Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, especially its cross-strait policy.
The DPP must protect Taiwan and its sovereignty, Tsai said, insist on its ideals and take good care of the disadvantaged in the globalization age.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS