Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said he may meet with National Taiwan University physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as early as next week to discuss Ko’s strained relationship with the party.
Ko, an independent who has been leading all pan-green camp aspirants in the DPP primary for Taipei mayor in public approval ratings, has been mulling whether to join the party.
Several DPP aspirants, in particular former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), have vehemently opposed Ko’s inclusion in the party primary as a non-DPP member, saying that the move would counter party consolidation.
Although Ko’s supporters say that he can run as an independent if the party does not nominate a candidate for the Taipei race, slated to be held on Dec. 6 next year, Su appeared to have eliminated that scenario yesterday.
“The DPP has fielded a candidate in every Taipei mayoral election, as every political party should do,” he said.
The chairman’s comment implied that the DPP would definitely nominate a candidate for the mayoral contest, so if Ko does not join the party, there will be two pan-green camp candidates in the race.
On Monday, lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who is trying to win the four-way race to secure the party’s nod, unveiled his campaign theme: “Good Taipei+,” at a press conference attended by eight of the DPP’s 22 Taipei City councilors to show their support.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai