The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) leadership for the next two years took shape yesterday during elections at the annual congress as DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) gained an ability to influence the party’s power structure for the first time.
Tsai, who neither established her own alliance nor became affiliated with any grouping when she served as chairperson between 2008 and 2012, yesterday saw allies voted onto the party’s key decisionmaking bodies — the Central Executive Committee and the Central Standing Committee.
While Tsai has been reluctant to recognize her “special circle” as a faction, she now has five allies among the 30 elected members of the Central Executive Committee and two confidants — DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) and her former presidential running mate, Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) — among the 10 elected members of the Central Standing Committee.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
This will make it easier for Tsai to consolidate her power in the party and to initiate proposals or defend her policies.
It also highlighted Su Jia-chyuan’s official return to the party’s power structure after a hiatus for almost two years since the 2012 presidential election and the controversy over a residence he built on land zoned solely for agricultural use in Pingtung County.
The biennial elections for the Central Executive Committee, the Central Standing Committee and the Central Review Committee, which oversees the DPP’s internal affairs, were held during yesterday’s congress.
The Central Standing Committee, the DPP’s highest decisionmaking body, has 17 members: the chairperson, three DPP caucus executives, three mayors and 10 elected members — who are chosen from among the 30-person Central Executive Committee.
Almost all the DPP’s former factions fared equally winning seats on the Central Standing Committee. The former New Tide faction won two seats, as did a “faction” of Tsai, Yu and Hsieh, while former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) faction won one seat, as did the Green Friendship Alliance.
The same balanced of power is now found on the Central Executive Committee after the election, with New Tide and the Tsai-Yu-Hsieh side each winning five seats, followed by Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) faction, which has four seats. Su’s faction and the Green Friendship Alliance each won three seats.
Central Executive Committee member Hung Chi-kune (洪智坤) failed to win re-elected due to a lack of support from any faction.
Eleven Central Review Committee members were also elected.
The DPP voted to ban party factions during its national congress in June 2006, though the groupings are still recognized by many people inside and out of the party.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) banned party factions in January 2008.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
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
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
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
RSS