New signs emerged yesterday that former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) could take on a legislative role, with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip saying that Su appeared inclined to accept the arrangement
“I have heard that former premier Su may agree to be included on the [legislators-at-large] list in order to get out the vote. It’s the right direction to take,” said DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who was last week re-elected as leader of the party’s caucus.
The inclusion of Su, who narrowly lost to DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in April’s presidential primary, will remove a major obstacle in the upcoming election campaign with Su till commanding significant support in the party.
In a sign of reconciliation, Su has already indicated he would be willing to accept a role as Tsai’s campaign chairperson, putting to rest concern over a noisy split in party backing.
A meeting between the two is speculated to be in the works for some time this week, coming between Tsai’s return yesterday from a trip to the Philippines and an upcoming visit to Europe for Su, who has continued to maintain a high profile since the loss.
Su’s office declined to comment on Ker’s comments. Su spokesperson Andrew Wang (王閔生) said that a DPP task force was working on the legislators-at-large list and the campaign had no comment on the issue.
“As long as it’s for the party’s good, Su will put in his best effort, whatever the position,” Wang said.
On the Tsai-Su meeting, he said: “We will respect Tsai’s arrangements.”
Under DPP regulations revised earlier this year, Tsai has the authority to lead a task force to select DPP legislator-at-large candidates that will be elected based on the party’s share of the popular vote. The list of 34 candidates must be approved by the party’s executive committee.
The list is expected to be decided on later this week, with former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also expected to be included in the talks.
DPP politicians have indicated that if Su shows willingness to be included on the list, he would easily be chosen as next year’s caucus chief, or possibly as legislative speaker, depending on the number of seats the DPP garners in January’s legislative elections.
Despite outright rejecting the the idea of being Tsavice presidency last month, Su has remained inconclusive on the topic of whether he plans to accept a role as legislative leader.
In a sign that his political aspirations have not yet ended, Su unveiled his new office on Sunday, along with a streamlined staff of 20, down from the 40 to 50 he employed during the party’s presidential primary.
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
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