Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday said that democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would win the presidential election by a slim margin and propel the DPP to a legislative majority.
“Currently, the two major parties are locked in a 50-50 split for the 2012 presidential elections. The [end] result on Jan. 14 will be very close,” the imprisoned Chen wrote in his bi-weekly statement, released by members of his office.
Citing recent opinion polls, Chen said: “The DPP will still win and Tsai will become Taiwan’s first female president, given her lead of 3 to 5 percentage points [in the polls].”
The DPP would most likely elect 57 legislators, giving it a slight majority in the 113-seat legislature, he added.
Chen, who continues to wield significant influence in the DPP through his One Side, One Country alliance despite being sentenced to 17-and-a-half years in jail for bribery and money laundering, has openly expressed his support for Tsai, although party officials have largely downplayed his backing.
The former president’s predictions are largely in line with media polls that either show the DPP candidate with a slight lead or suggest that Tsai and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) are tied.
A survey released on May 25 by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that Tsai held a 4 percentage point lead over Ma — 35 percent to 31 percent.
A TVBS poll released on May 20 showed support for Ma at 45 percent compared with Tsai’s 44 percent.
Both candidates’ leads in the respective polls were within the margin of error.
Chen said that Tsai’s addition to the ballot had taken away two pillars of support for Ma: Young people and women, which he said would be enough to lead to a narrow DPP victory, citing prior election experience.
“Ma no longer has any advantage among young people ... and it is a given that more women will support Tsai,” Chen said, adding that widespread public interest in the race would likely contribute to record-high voter turnout of about 80 percent.
It will be a “very competitive election campaign,” he said.
“Tsai isn’t second to Ma either in leadership ability or educational background. She’s also younger,” Chen said.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS