New Power Party (NPP) legislative candidate Neil Peng (馮光遠) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the race for New Taipei City’s first district, following a breakdown of “integration” talks with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lu Sun-ling (呂孫綾).
“This is a simple decision, but the stuff involved behind it is extremely complicated,” the author and playwright said. “We’re making the largest sacrifice possible to ensure [Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator] Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) is ‘out,’ but there’s no way we can identify with a DPP which has already begun to ‘KMTize’ (國民黨化).”
He said that the DPP’s decision to directly nominate Lu — despite the breakdown of “integration” talks — represented the beginning of the “KMTization” of the party because it could be attributed to the influence of local factions, along with Lu’s family’s wealth and political connections.
He added that he would not support Lu in the election.
“I will cast an invalid ballot because there is no way I can support the values of Lu Tzu-chang (呂子昌), but the voters of New Taipei City can make their own decision,” he said, referring to Lu’s father, who served as a county councilor for the former Taipei County for more than 30 years.
Peng — who fought back tears several times during his remarks — was flanked by NPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) and Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), the party official who has been responsible for negotiations with the DPP.
Both Peng and Huang wore T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Wu Yu-sheng out!” from an earlier recall campaign for which Peng was the organizer.
“We have to focus on the big picture of next year’s legislative elections: Peng can withdraw, but Wu has to be ‘out,’” said Huang, adding that the party was “sad” and “reluctant” to see Peng withdraw, with differing opinions within the party pushing the decision late into Tuesday night.
After Lu “tore up” an “integration” agreement between the two parties, the NPP had originally hoped that the DPP’s central governing committee would force her to get in line, only to see it directly nominate her for the seat on Tuesday, he said.
Hsinchu is now the only remaining legislative district for which the NPP and DPP have both fielded candidates.
Huang said the party was still committed to supporting its candidate in Hsinchu, Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), adding that the “latest information” he had was that Chiu would continue his campaign unless his rival, DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), agreed to “integration” polling.
Under “integration” polling, candidates’ support is gauged through a negotiated set of surveys, with both candidates agreeing to support whoever polls highest, with the other candidate withdrawing from the race.
Official registration to appear on the Jan. 16 ballot is to conclude on Friday next week.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS