Singer-turned-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Tian (余天) is counting on support from fellow entertainers to continue his legislative career.
After media speculation that the party would not include the popular folk singer on its roster of -legislators-at-large, supporters yesterday took out half-page advertisements in popular newspapers.
Signed by TV hosts Chang Fei (張菲), Hu Gua (胡瓜), singer Lotus Wang (王彩樺) and 30 other television entertainers, the statement called on the DPP to ensure that the folk singer was nominated next year.
The New Taipei City (新北市) legislator “is the only lawmaker that represents the arts and entertainment industry,” the statement read. “Nominating Yu as a legislator-at-large would showcase the DPP’s support of and dedication to local culture.”
According to media reports, Yu could be the first high-profile casualty of the DPP’s roster of -legislators-at-large, who will be elected based on the proportion of the party’s vote in January’s election.
Yesterday was the final day of internal party discussions regarding the list before it was set to be approved this afternoon.
Yu was passed up by a party nomination for the seat in the pan-green stronghold of Sanchong District (三重), where he won in 2008, in favor of DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) as it was thought that Yu would face a tough re-election bid.
However, with only 16 or 17 places on the legislator-at-large roster considered by party officials to be “safe” — as the DPP only elected 14 legislators-at-large in 2008 — there has been increasing concern among DPP leaders on how to avoid a showdown between factions within the party that are vying for a share of the nominations.
DPP officials, led by party Chairperson and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), expect to unveil the roster this afternoon after it is approved by a DPP committee.
When asked about whether Yu had been taken off the list, Tsai yesterday said that “currently, no one has been ruled out and no one is considered safe.”
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
Taiwanese celebrities Hank Chen (陳漢典) and Lulu Huang (黃路梓茵) announced yesterday that they are planning to marry. Huang announced and posted photos of their engagement to her social media pages yesterday morning, joking that the pair were not just doing marketing for a new show, but “really getting married.” “We’ve decided to spend all of our future happy and hilarious moments together,” she wrote. The announcement, which was later confirmed by the talent agency they share, appeared to come as a surprise even to those around them, with veteran TV host Jacky Wu (吳宗憲) saying he was “totally taken aback” by the news. Huang,
The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) put Taiwan in danger, Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭岑) said yesterday, hours after the de facto US embassy said that Beijing had misinterpreted World War II-era documents to isolate Taiwan. The AIT’s comments harmed the Republic of China’s (ROC) national interests and contradicted a part of the “six assurances” stipulating that the US would not change its official position on Taiwan’s sovereignty, Hsiao said. The “six assurances,” which were given by then-US president Ronald Reagan to Taiwan in 1982, say that Washington would not set a date for ending arm sales to Taiwan, consult
RSS