Amid a backdrop of a recent string of disasters and food scandals, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday marked its 28th anniversary with nationwide picnics instead of its usual large-scale celebrations, in a move meant to symbolize that the party is on the side of the general public, not the privileged few.
In light of July’s plane crash in Penghu, which killed 48 people, a series gas pipeline blasts in Greater Kaohsiung that killed 30, a tainted oil scare and other events, the DPP decided that it would celebrate its 28th birthday by staging picnic events around the country.
“The picnics symbolize that the DPP is not a party for the privileged, rather, it will always stand with the general populace,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a picnic in Greater Taichung, where she was campaigning for the party’s mayoral candidate, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). “All of our candidates [in the year-end nine-in-one elections] share the same idea: to enable people to live happily.”
She said that what the public wants may be ordinary, but it takes extraordinary government leadership to fulfil those needs, such as safe food, security and a good transportation network. Tsai added that she is confident the DPP nominees will be extraordinary leaders.
Tsai also took part in a picnic in Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港), after campaigning for the party’s candidate for Changhua County commissioner, Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷).
Prior to the its anniversary celebrations yesterday, the party decided to expel several of its members for insisting on running in the Nov. 29 elections despite not receiving party nominations.
Those expelled were Hsinchu mayoral candidate James Tsai (蔡仁堅), Hualien County commissioner hopeful Chu Kuo-hua (朱國華), Greater Taoyuan mayoral candidate Hsu Jui-chih (許睿智) and 18 local councilor hopefuls, including New Taipei City Councilor Lee Wan-yu (李婉鈺) and Taoyuan County Councilor Lo Wen-chin (羅文欽).
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
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