Following a series of disputes on negotiations between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and alternative political groups over cross-party collaborations in the coming legislative election, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) voiced her willingness to make more concessions.
“To have the forces of reform occupy more than 50 percent of the seats in the legislature, we must endorse the most competitive candidate in each electoral district. It is the DPP’s responsibility and the DPP’s rule of thumb in endorsing candidates,” Tsai said during a speech to the Taiwanese-American community in New York City on Friday during a 12-day visit to the US.
“When there is a candidate in the progressive camp who is most likely to win, of course the person does not have to be nominated by the DPP,” she said.
“If we can yield in the Taipei mayoral election, what else can we not yield?” Tsai added, referring to the DPP’s decision against nominating a candidate last year in the Taipei mayoral election.
The party threw its support behind independent then-candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who ultimately won a landslide victory.
Tsai said the DPP would establish a competitive, yet cooperative, relationship with other parties that hold common ideas, so that progressive political forces could stand united for a bigger objective.
Tsai was responding to recent criticism from veteran political activist Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) and politicians representing alternative political groups.
The critics said that, while the DPP agreed to yield seats to third-party political candidates, it is not conceding enough.
Tsai said that while she feels “a little saddened” by some of Lin’s words, she understands that it is because Lin has high expectations for Taiwan’s future and its democracy.
EXPANSIONIST: China deploys an average of 40 to 50 warships and coast guard vessels daily in the South China Sea, despite pledges not to militarize the region, an official said China is attempting to expand its influence across the First Island Chain and increase pressure on Japan by sending coast guard vessels into waters off of Taiwan under the pretext of maritime negotiations with Japan and the Philippines, a national security official said yesterday. China’s recent actions in the waters east of Taiwan and Japan and the Philippines’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) are attempts to establish dominance in First Island Chain waters, said the official who declined to be named, adding that this is “expansion disguised as law enforcement.” Framing China’s actions solely as a cross-strait issue is a serious misjudgment that
Through analyzing fossil evidence, a research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) discovered the largest endemic bird to have lived in Taiwan, naming it Pavo miejue, or extinct peafowl (滅絕孔雀). The Mikado pheasant, which is printed on the back of the NT$1,000 bank note, was previously believed to be the biggest endemic bird to Taiwan. The research team’s findings suggest that Pavo miejue lived during the Pleistocene epoch tens of thousands of years ago. It is the first endemic extinct bird species discovered and formally named in Taiwan. The study was coauthored by NTU Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修),
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is to suspend its automated Skytrain service connecting Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 starting on July 1 to facilitate connection works for the upcoming Terminal 3, the airport operator said today. Passengers and staff who need to travel between the two terminals after the suspension can instead use the Taoyuan MRT or the airport's 24-hour shuttle bus service, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. The Taoyuan MRT Airport Line directly links the two terminals, while the shuttle buses are to operate around the clock, the company added. The Skytrain provides free transportation between the airport’s two terminals for travelers and
Taiwan ranked 42nd in terms of peacefulness among 163 countries, down five places from last year, according to this year’s Global Peace Index. With an overall score of 1.751, Taiwan dropped from 37th last year, the report published by the global Institute for Economics and Peace showed. The overall score measures a country’s level of peacefulness using 23 quantitative and qualitative indicators across three domains — ongoing domestic and international conflict, societal safety and security, and militarization. While Taiwan ranked 42nd worldwide, it was listed in ninth place among the 19 Asian-Pacific countries in the report, after New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia,
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