Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday admitted to leaking a private text conversation between DPP lawmakers about draft legislation on same-sex marriage, with party members downplaying the incident and describing the leak as a well-intentioned blunder.
Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) on Monday released a set of screen grabs from a private group chat by the DPP legislative caucus on the messaging application, Line, revealing DPP legislators discussions about the possible repercussions of the legislation.
DPP legislators Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Julian Kuo (郭正亮) had been debating the effect of the same-sex marriage legislation on the party’s electoral performance, with Chung criticizing the DPP for seeking political gain by pushing the legislation.
Tuan, who withdrew from the group chat immediately after the conversation was exposed, was criticized for currying favor with young voters with the legislation after Chung wrote that the DPP’s approval ratings among young voters would be “moved to the intensive care unit” in less than six months and the party would lose the support of the younger generation to the New Power Party if it does not handle the same-sex marriage issue properly.
Lo yesterday admitted to leaking the private conversation to a friend, a priest who has questioned the DPP’s stance on same-sex marriage.
In an apology sent to the DPP caucus chat group, Lo said he sent the screen shots of the conversation to the friend in a bid to communicate with him about DPP policy, but that the screen shots later went viral.
He apologized for the leak and its consequences, and quit the chat group to rebuild trust among caucus members.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said Lo’s attempt to get the party’s policy across was out of good intentions and his apology was sincere, so Lo had earned the forgiveness of all of the DPP’s legislators.
Saying that she forgave Lo immediately after he owned up to the leak, Kuan added that caucus members trust each other.
“The event was caused by negligence and there is no factor that could ruin the trust between us,” Kuan said.
The incident was a “blessing in disguise,” as Internet users had supported the party for its in-depth discussion of social issues, she said.
DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the incident showed that the party is democratic and progressive, as caucus members engaged in a rational debate about a key issue to come up with a viable solution.
“The DPP does not excuse itself from the controversial issue of marriage equality, but instead takes the initiative to lead the legislation,” she said.
Chung and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強), who also accused Tuan of manipulating the same-sex marriage issue, are seeking political gain by voicing criticism of the DPP over the incident, as both are competing for the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) nomination for the Taipei mayoral election next year, Wu said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
RSS