The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced its candidates for nine cities and counties governed by DPP members, with the party opting to nominate all nine mayors and commissioners for re-election.
The nine incumbents are: Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌), Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), Hsinchu Mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷), Yunlin County Commissioner Lee Chin-yung (李進勇), Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), Pingtung County Commissioner Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Penghu County Commissioner Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復).
“Taiwan deserves recognition and improvement. Our [DPP] mayors and commissioners, as well as the [DPP] government and legislative caucus, are a united team,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
“The nomination today is just a start. We will form the best campaign team to improve Taiwan and create happiness,” Tsai said.
The nomination did not come as much of a surprise, although there was speculation that a couple of candidates — notably Twu, whose approval rating is low — might be replaced.
Reports said the party tried to persuade Twu to give up his candidacy to make way for DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋), but failed.
“The speculation and opposition against [my candidacy] suggest that I am the most competitive,” Twu said.
He added that his approval rating has rallied and should continue to climb as his nomination should quell the conflict within the DPP and ensure a coordinated campaign effort.
Doubts have also been cast on the re-election bid of Lee Chin-yung due to a rift with DPP Legislator Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬), a former Yunlin County commissioner who has considerable local influence.
Su on Monday wrote on Facebook that she would keep Lee Chin-yung at a distance and that their relationship soured immediately after he was sworn in three years ago.
Lee Chin-yung said he would talk to Su about the disagreement, while assuring that Su would assist the party in the election.
Lee Chin-yung vowed to develop public long-term care services and seek central government funding to help older people and the county, while continuing to carry out existing agricultural and “green” energy policies.
The DPP also plans to announce its nominees for four other DPP-governed municipalities: Tainan, Kaohsiung, Yilan and Chiayi County, where competition for the nomination is the most acute.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
RSS