The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should consider changing its legislator-at-large list for January’s legislative elections to avoid alienating supporters, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said in a statement from jail yesterday.
Joining the chorus of calls asking the party to reconsider the list of nominees it released on June 30, Chen said there was no reason why several professionals such as Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), a women’s equality advocate, were omitted from the top 16 “safe list” of a roster heavily populated by career politicians.
“The list is definitely not the best possible roster and should not be outshone by the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT]. There is still time and opportunity to make slight changes,” wrote Chen, a former DPP chairman.
His comments could provide critics of the list, which include civic groups and lawmakers who were left off the roster, with ammunition to attack DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) picks.
The roster — and especially the top 16 of the 34 more “guaranteed spots” — is seen as symbolic of factionalism in the DPP.
Chen said Tsai appears to have fallen prey to such pressure, adding that appointing factional representatives and her own aides to top spots at the expense of “more qualified people” was not necessarily the wisest choice.
“Some of the candidates proposed by DPP factions are better suited to run in district elections and it would be a pity to see them avoid the [ballot box],” Chen wrote.
“And if Tsai is so sure of winning, why didn’t she place more of her close aides on the fringes of the list?” he said.
Chen’s remarks on the internal party power struggle follow a recent increase in the quantity of his writings, a move that has landed him in hot water with authorities at Taipei Prison.
Two of his articles were blocked and censored by prison authorities in the past two months, moves that Chen’s allies have called illegal and a violation of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS