Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) on Saturday said he would run in the Taipei mayoral election next year and accused Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of overstepping his authority.
Yao said the mayor has failed to live up to the expectations of grassroots supporters during the three years he has been in office.
“The atmosphere at party headquarters is always changing, but the latest polls show that many DPP supporters feel that Mayor Ko is out of touch with the expectations that people had for his administration,” Yao said.
Ko has said he would break down the barrier between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but ended up wandering between them, Yao said, adding that Ko’s political activities have gone beyond the concerns of a mayor.
“Taipei is not only the nation’s capital, but also the engine of its economy. Yet, in the past few years the city’s economy has shrunk and has been surpassed by New Taipei City,” Yao said, adding that the problem seems to have stemmed from a lack of cooperation between civic groups and local government departments on issues such as land rights.
The Taipei City Government’s performance calls for a new mayor, Yao said, citing the city’s failure to launch the Taipei Twin Towers project after it was marred by corruption allegations in 2014.
There is a lack of enthusiasm about the Summer Universiade that is to take place in Taipei next month, whereas Tokyo residents are already excited about the 2020 Olympics, Yao added.
Yao said he would continue promoting “green” energy, “smart” technology and other infrastructure projects after the Universiade, but added that he hopes the city would put all of its energy into the Games and return to other projects after the event is over.
Yao said the DPP would hold its national congress in September and is expected to discuss the candidates for next year’s elections as well as the party’s relationship with Ko.
The DPP would await the results of a public opinion poll before deciding whether to maintain ties with Ko, a source said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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