How the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would govern if it wins the presidential election in January — not just winning the election — is what is truly important for the party, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday told its national congress.
More than 500 representatives attended the event in Taoyuan, including former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former party chairmen Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Yu Shyi-kun and Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文).
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and 11 of the party’s other mayors and county commissioners also attended.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
However, Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), whose municipality is battling a major outbreak of dengue fever, did not attend.
Long-time Taiwanese independence activist and historian Su Beng (史明), 96, attended and had a seat next to Tsai.
The deputy representative of Russia’s trade office and diplomats or representatives from 11 other countries observed the proceedings.
In her speech, Tsai said that winning the January presidential poll was crucial to play an important role for the nation and that the party would need to fulfill every single reform promised made to the public.
Life for ordinary people has been hard over the past several years, and if the DPP were given the chance to govern, it would be responsible for ushering in better times, no matter how much effort was required, she said.
In his speech, Su said that the DPP could not afford to take the presidential race lightly, but he said he was confident that the DPP could win a majority in legislative elections, including a complete sweep of the nation’s south.
Tsai has been campaigning “pretty hard” for the presidency he said, praising her efforts to win votes in Hakka areas where the party has struggled to win votes in the past.
Tsai was practicing speaking Hakka and visiting Hakka areas, he said, and had also proposed a number of policies aimed at winning support from Hakka voters.
Holding yesterday’s convention in Taoyuan’s Pingzhen District (平鎮) showed that the party was sincere about working hard to win Hakka support, he said.
Last night the DPP celebrated its 29th anniversary one week in advance with a gala show at Jhongjheng Park in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) that included performances by the Paper Windmill Theatre (紙風車劇團) and several bands.
The DPP was founded on Sept. 28, 1986. It moved its celebrations up so that they would not conflict with the three-day long weekend for the Mid-Autum Festival.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS