The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced its legislator-at-large nominees, a list which contrasted with past practice as it included a substantial portion of nominees who are not DPP members.
The list of 34 nominees includes 14 who are not affiliated with any political party. Five of the top eight nominees are not DPP members, which means members of the public have a greater chance of winning seats in the legislature in the Jan. 16 elections.
At a press conference in Taipei, DPP Chairwoman and presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that though the roster is very “non-DPP” on the surface, it fully reflects the party’s beliefs of openness and diversity, thereby allowing for more professional input in the legislature.
Photo: CNA
Later in the day, DPP legislators Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who have also been nominated for legislator-at-large seats, visited the Central Election Commission and completed the registration for their nominations.
Each nominee would shoulder their responsibility to push for reform, monitor the government and establish communication between the public and the government if they win a seat in the legislature, Tsai said.
“I promise that each and every DPP lawmaker will assume the role of ‘megaphone,’ to broadcast public opinion. Let us achieve an outright majority in the legislature so that we can truly bring about reform,” Tsai said.
Asked about an opinion piece penned by Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, in which Chen insinuated that Judicial Reform Foundation standing director Wellington Ku’s (顧立雄) acceptance of the DPP nomination proves that “power is enticing,” Tsai said: “I am not sure who he [Chen] is talking about. I believe that Ku is the one who is most familiar with issues about judicial reform. I think that he is an ideal nominee with expansive experience.”
Tsai also confirmed that former Academia Sinica vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) and herself would register as presidential and vice presidential candidates at the Central Election Commission on Friday.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS