A group of pro-localization organizations yesterday called on the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to nominate the strongest candidate for the pan-green camp for this year’s Taipei mayoral election, possibly suggesting they support independent aspirant Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has been leading the pan-green camp hopefuls in several public opinion poll conducted by media outlets.
At a press conference held in Taipei yesterday, Taiwan Society President Chang Yen-hsien (張炎憲) said the DPP has been following party regulations which stipulate that an aspirant has to be a party member before they can be recruited by the party to run in the election.
“All these rules can be changed,” Chang said, calling on the DPP to have a “tolerant heart.”
The reason Ko is leading in most polls is that the public wants change, Eastern Taiwan Society president Winston Yu (余文儀) said.
Former Taiwan Society President Wu Shu-min (吳樹民) added that the groups are not outrightly recommending Ko, but simply hope the DPP would engage in introspection.
The groups suggested that the party postpone its nomination process to name its Taipei mayoral candidate until the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) announces its candidate.
The groups also suggested the party conduct a national opinion poll on all pan-green camp Taipei mayoral aspirants.
Under the group’s proposal, the opinions of Taipei residents would account for 70 percent of the result and the views of the rest of the nation would account for 30 percent.
Whoever won the poll would be named the candidate.
Separately yesterday, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) tried to garner support for her bid to be named the DPP’s candidate by holding a ceremony in Daan Forest Park to launch her official campaign support groups.
Attended by more than 1,000 supporters, including the wardens of ten boroughs, Lu said that Taipei has witnessed numerous fiascoes stemming from the successive administrations of former mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) who she called the Taizidang (太子黨) or Princelings Party.
Lu promised that if she were elected as Taipei mayor, she would purge the city hall of “the princelings’ filth.”
When asked about her potential rival, Ko, director of National Taiwan University Hospital’s department of traumatology, Lu said: “[If] a savior says to you he would unite non-partisan parties into a great alliance and asks you to turn Taipei over to him; if ever there were such a person, he should have joined us after the Kaohsiung Incident (美麗島事件), shouldn’t he?”
The Kaohsiung Incident occurred on Dec. 10, 1979, when the then-KMT government imprisoned participants of an anti-government parade.
Lu was jailed for her role in the human rights rally.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS