The three candidates registered for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primary for next year’s presidential election yesterday agreed with the party’s leadership to hold four televised presentations next month.
The presentations, slated for April 9, April 13, April 16 and April 20, will also be streamed live over the Internet.
The three contenders are Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who took leave from her position as DPP chairperson to run, former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良). Each sent their representatives to attend a coordination meeting held at party headquarters in Taipei yesterday to map out a schedule for the planned presentations
The candidates agreed that the presentations would take place from 2pm to 4pm on April 9, 8pm to 10pm on April 13, 2pm to 4pm on April 16 and 8pm to 10pm on April 20.
The presentations, each lasting two hours, will be divided into three parts allowing the candidates to introduce themselves, present conclusions and ask questions.
Saying the primary is an important part of the party’s nomination process, Tsai expressed hope yesterday that every candidate would keep in mind the need for party unity.
Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) declared her intention to seek the party’s nomination last month, becoming the first person to officially announce her candidacy.
However, she announced on Tuesday that she has decided to drop out of the party presidential primary.
The DPP has said it would select its presidential candidate through five nationwide surveys, which are scheduled to be held from April 25 to April 29, with the winner expected to be announced on May 4.
The DPP candidate will most likely compete against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who has indicated that he would seek a second term and is expected to be nominated by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Additional reporting by CNA
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