Former Keelung mayor Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) will be the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) nominee for the Yunlin County commissioner election next year after Lee won the party primary yesterday.
Lee beat two other contenders in a public opinion poll conducted on Tuesday by three survey companies, earning a support rate of 29.96 percent, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) told a press conference.
DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) finished second with 23.64 percent, DPP Legislator-at-large Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) placed third with 17.8 percent and 28.6 percent of respondents said that they had no preference.
The poll was the sole primary method, according to the DPP’s regulations for next year’s mayoral and commissioner elections.
Lee Chin-yung, who was backed by Yunlin Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬), thanked his supporters and said his priority would to seek reconciliation with his rivals to ensure party unity.
“After all, the enemy is not a DPP member,” Lee Chin-yung said.
Liu and Lee Ying-yuan both said they respected the results and pledged party unity, but both urged the DPP to deal with controversies that arose the primary process, although neither elaborated.
One controversy is believed to be Su’s endorsement of Lee Chin-yung, with Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) also voicing their support of him.
Liu said in a press release that he was grateful for the opportunity to learn from “three senior politicians” in the primary, referring to his opponents and Su, while Lee Ying-yuan said some of the survey returns may have been fixed.
The party’s next primary is for the Pingtung commissioner election, with a public opinion poll to be conducted tonight to determine the winner. DPP legislators Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) are the two contenders.
The result will be announced on Saturday morning, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said, adding that surveys in other constituencies have also been scheduled after negotiation between aspirants failed to winnow the lists.
A survey will be conducted on Nov. 18 in Nantou County to determine whether former DPP lawmakers Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) or Tang Huo-shen (湯火聖) will be the candidate, the spokespersons said.
Former vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) has dropped out of the race in Greater Taichung, leaving DPP legislators Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) as the two contenders.
Su Jia-chyuan said in a press release issued by his office that a DPP victory in Greater Taichung would be certain if the party could avoid internal divisions.
“I have decided to withdraw from the primary so that the young generation will continue deepening and strengthening democracy in Taiwan. And I pledge full support to whomever is nominated by the party,” he said.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the