The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it hoped that a victory in the Jan. 26 legislative by-election in Greater Taichung would create momentum in the same way a by-election win lifted the party in 2009.
“This will be an important election to answer President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] on their non-response to the people’s voice,” DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in Wurih District (烏日), Greater Taichung.
The party held its weekly Central Standing Committee in Taichung, with party heavyweights attending campaign activities to show support for candidate Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱).
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
The by-election is to fill a post in the second electoral district left vacant by former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), whose status was revoked after he was found guilty of corruption.
The electoral district, a traditional KMT stronghold, includes the Greater Taichung districts of Shalu (沙鹿), Longjing (龍井), Wurih (烏日), Dadu (大肚), Wufeng (霧峰) and part of Dali (大里) and is home to about 220,000 voters.
Chen, 35, will be up against Yen’s son, the 36-year-old Yen Kuan-hen (顏寬恆), who was nominated by the KMT, in what will be a tough campaign, given that the DPP has historically trailed the KMT by 20 percent in the constituency, Su said.
Chen “is basically running against Yen Ching-piao,” whose family has dominated the local political scene for decades due to its close ties to the Dajia Cheng Lan Temple (大甲鎮瀾宮) and other local connections, a local campaigner said.
However, the DPP and Chen both said they believed he could win, because Ma and the KMT were unpopular because of their performance over the past year.
“We have reason to be optimistic, despite the many factors working against us, such as vote-buying,” deputy campaign manager Li Chin-hsiang (利錦祥) said.
A low turnout rate, which has often been the case in past by-elections, would likely benefit the KMT because it has more sophisticated grassroot networks, Li said.
However, a win is still within reach and the campaign hopes that a victory will inspire the DPP, Li said.
It could have the same impact as DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo’s (劉建國) maiden win in a legislative election in Yunlin County, which was regarded as the catalyst for the DPP’s comeback from its dark days after losing the 2008 presidential election in a landslide, Li said.
Liu’s win sparked a series of victories in local elections and then-DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) saw her popularity soar, going on to eventually become the party’s presidential candidate.
An upset win by Chen would be seen as the first step in Su’s call for the “four changes” of “changing policies, replacing the Cabinet, replacing the legislators and replacing the president.”
If Chen won, the DPP would pull even with the KMT in Greater Taichung, with both holding four of the eight legislative seats, former premier Yu Shyi-kun said yesterday.
That was why Su and the DPP have been campaigning hard in the constituency. Su is scheduled to speak at five rallies and attend street canvassing activities this week.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS