Once a major subgroup within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) faction suffered a major loss at the party’s national congress yesterday with zero seats in the Central Standing Committee, while the former New Tide faction gained the most seats.
The party in 2006 resolved to dissolve its factions in a move to bolster party unity, although the groupings are still recognized by many people inside and outside of the DPP.
According to the DPP’s power structure, party delegates elect 30 Central Executive Committee members at the annual national congress, and the 30 Central Executive Committee members then choose 10 Central Standing Committee members among themselves.
In addition to the 10 elected seats, the party chair, the three top caucus officials, mayors of the special municipalities and one additional mayor also serve on the Central Standing Committee.
On the outgoing Central Standing Committee, Hsieh’s faction holds two seats — including himself and DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲). However, at yesterday’s election, Hsieh’s faction did not win any Central Standing Committee seats as its candidate, Kuan, received only one vote and another candidate, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟), received no votes.
While most other major factions retained a certain number of seats in the party’s core decision-making body, New Tide secured three seats and is now the faction with the most seats.
A DPP source said Kuan voted for herself, and Chao voted for DPP Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Ying-jun (林瑩蓉).
“Some of the newly elected Central Standing Committee members were elected with only two votes, so if Hsieh’s faction had united and focused their votes on one person, they would still have had a chance,” said a DPP source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
RSS