The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) might face a rocky election campaign in next year’s local elections in Yilan and Yunlin counties and Chiayi City, DPP lawmakers said.
The DPP, which is in office in 13 of the nation’s 22 local governments, might see its electoral efforts hampered due to disunity and an underperforming mayor, according to the lawmakers.
DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), Yilan’s sole legislator and a likely candidate in the county commissioner election, yesterday said that at least three local officials have announced their intention to seek party nomination for the election.
The competition for party nomination had reportedly been fierce well before outgoing Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) was appointed as the Council of Agriculture minister.
“The competition is intense, but I doubt it would turn into anything like a split” within the DPP, Chen said in response to a question whether infighting might cause the DPP to lose the county.
“Next year’s election will be close, as [the DPP candidates] do not have the advantage of incumbency and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates have been preparing for the election for a long time,” Chen said.
Three KMT politicians have been campaigning for party nomination for months and each of them would be a strong opponent for the DPP, Chen said.
Local residents have been dissatisfied with the county government’s policies on farmhouse regulations, land taxes and the government’s finances, which might hurt the DPP’s re-election prospects, he said.
However, those factors might not sway the election in the KMT’s favor, as the electorate is known for being non-partisan, and it is the candidates’ quality and vision that would affect the election’s outcome, Chen said.
Chen added that he will announce in a few months whether he will participate in the commissioner race.
Yunlin County Commissioner Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) has reportedly been at odds with DPP legislator and former county commissioner Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬) over land development and farmers’ association elections.
DPP Legislator Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國), a three-term lawmaker who lost the DPP nomination to Lee Chin-yung by a small margin in the last party primary election, might challenge the commissioner.
Meanwhile, Chiayi Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) of the DPP said the possibility of Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲) being re-elected is “worrying.”
Lee Chun-yi said he heard about Twu being placed on a “watch list” by the DPP, with public opinion polls showing disapproval for the mayor, but added that the DPP’s priority is to help Twu regain popularity.
“Solidarity is the most important thing for the DPP to win the election. What I am most afraid of is disunity,” Lee Chun-yi said. “The most important thing is who can win the election, rather than who will participate in the election.”
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS