Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said remarks made by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) — who said an election win for Tsai would harm agricultural exports — were “disappointing,” urging him to do more than just scare people.
“The KMT presidential candidate is unable to show his party’s achievements from good governance [in the past seven years], or to present complete and constructive planning for the economy and industries. Instead [Chu] only continuously plays the ‘threat’ card,” Tsai told reporters during a campaign outing in Changhua County.
“The people of Taiwan would be disappointed,” she said.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
Instead of making threats, Chu should brainstorm what he could do to improve the competitiveness of the agricultural sector in the international market, Tsai added.
The DPP, unlike the KMT, has a complete set of planning that covers exploring new markets, as well as enhanced management and planting for the agricultural sector, which could help it find more opportunities, Tsai said.
On Saturday, Chu said that during the DPP administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the government was “unfriendly” toward local farmers’ and fishermen’s associations by taking over the credit departments of 36 such organizations, making it difficult for the associations to expand their businesses.
Tsai said the credit departments were taken over by the government at the time because they were suffering from bad debts and excess loans, pushing them to the edge of collapse.
Tsai defended DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) in the face of accusations by New Taipei City prosecutor Huang Meng-shan (黃孟珊) that Tuan had tried to interfere in a case by pressuring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add dehydrated gypsum to a list of permitted food additives after a food manufacturer was indicted for using the substance in its products.
Tuan denied the allegation, saying that he merely helped the food manufacturer to petition the FDA, as dehydrated gypsum is a legal food additive in many other countries.
“Tuan has explained the incident clearly, what he has done is what a lawmaker should do, and he is now preparing to file a lawsuit over the allegations,” Tsai said.
“He is handling the situation in a responsible way,” she said.
Tsai denied a report by the Chinese-language China Times that the DPP has lowered its expected number of legislative seats in constituencies in northern Taiwan after Chu joined the presidential race.
“The rumor is inaccurate,” Tsai said. “The election campaign as a whole has been stable for us and we are campaigning according to our original plans.”
“Our rival is making up stories,” she added.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS