Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected to turn over the party chair post to Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) at a ceremony after a Central Standing Committee meeting today.
Chen will serve as interim DPP chairperson until the party holds an election for the position in May.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Hong Yao-fu (洪耀福) said Tsai turned down an offer by the party to host a farewell event for her because she wanted to keep the day low-key. However, some party officials said they would see her off with flowers, cards and hugs.
They also said they would line up on both sides of the entrance at DPP headquarters to see Tsai off and to thank her for reforming the party and turning it around after hitting bottom in 2008.
Tsai submitted her resignation after losing the presidential election on Jan. 14, saying she would remain in the post until today.
Even though some DPP members have asked her to run again in 2016, sources close to Tsai said that she hoped to rest a while and sort out her feelings before she decides on her next move. She will also set up an office on Changan E Road in Taipei, they said.
Tonight, Tsai will treat DPP staffers and members to a screening of The Lady, a movie about Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,