Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials stepped in yesterday in an attempt to calm a potentially embarrassing row between two of the party's contenders in the year-end special municipality elections.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) called on both Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) to play fair and compete in a way that does not harm party interests.
In the meantime, the party plans to ensure better communication between the two, Tsai said.
Chen and Yang are competing for the DPP's nomination for December's Greater Kaohsiung elections, which will see Kaohsiung City and Kaohsiung County merged into a special municipality.
The spat began on Friday after Yang called a press conference alleging that Chen had him placed under surveillance during his campaign stops in Kaohsiung City. Comparing Chen's tactics to the White Terror era, Yang accused Chen of “poisoning” their friendship.
“Borough leaders that supported me had their houses torn down, while doctors that were with me had their licenses suspended. How can such a thing happen?” Yang said at the time. “How come even when [I] went mountain climbing ... the police were collecting evidence, I am not a suspect; this is getting ridiculous.”
In photographs handed out by Yang's campaign office, a uniformed police officer is seen taking pictures of Yang during a media interview at Kaohsiung's Shoushan.
Chen has denied the accusations, saying such actions run counter to her reputation as a freedom fighter during the White Terror period.
“I was imprisoned [during the period]. My administration will not undertake actions that I myself personally abhor,” Chen said.
She called on Yang to provide evidence supporting his allegations.
Kaohsiung police have said that the photograph of Yang was taken by a policeman surnamed Hong during a routine patrol of Shoushan. Authorities said Hong passed by Yang during a media interview and took a picture as part of his normal duties, denying it was a case of evidence collection or used for any other purpose.
The DPP's nine-member nomination team, charged with monitoring party nominees, plans to discuss the situation with Chen and Yang separately next week. In the meantime, the two candidates should exercise restraint so as to avoid further tarnishing the party's image, team member Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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