Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians continued to hint at a possible presidential run over the weekend, with only two months left before party primaries.
In one of his strongest signals yet, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said on Saturday he believed a presidential bid would fulfill his ideals, adding that “it is important that ideals are fulfilled every day.”
The 2008 DPP vice presidential nominee denied, however, that he had a timetable for the announcement, contrary to media reports that he could make a declaration on March 6, when his book and video tour ends.
Photo: Lin Shen-hsu, Taipei Times
Su traveled to shore up support in the south yesterday, after joining a local dental association for lunch. On Saturday, he went on a tour with conservation groups to protected wetlands in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Wugu District. Not more than two steps behind him, another former premier, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), on Thursday said in a TV interview to be aired tonight that he was also “open” to the idea of a presidential bid, but said that DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was currently a more popular candidate.
“Tsai’s poll ratings are currently higher,” he told Era TV. “If she doesn’t want to run, then [I’ll] consider it.”
While Tsai has not spoken publicly on her position on a presidential bid, she is understood to also be considering the idea, spurred on by grassroots supporters and senior party officials.
Yesterday she told a DPP event for the Tainan legislative by--elections that she was confident the DPP would “take back power” in the Presidential Office next year, after contending that the DPP has seen a resurgence since 2008, when she took the position of chairperson
The DPP plans to use telephone polls to settle the primaries, a controversial decision that has attracted opposition from many party supporters.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
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