Registration for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) primaries for November’s Kaohsiung and Tainan mayoral and Yilan and Chiayi county commissioner elections closed on Friday with 15 DPP members vying for the party’s nominations, DPP spokeswoman Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said.
Tainan, a traditional DPP stronghold, is expected to see the fiercest competition with six aspirants: DPP legislators Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津), Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲), Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) and Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), as well as former Tainan deputy mayor Yen Chun-tso (顏純左) and former DPP deputy secretary-general Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅).
Meanwhile, infighting has continued among the Tainan aspirants, with Lee accusing Huang of “engaging with corrupt politicians.”
Lee made the accusation at a news conference in front of the DPP’s Taipei headquarters on Friday.
Lee should not “go overboard for an election,” Huang said, adding that some of Lee’s allegations were fabricated.
In Kaohsiung, four DPP lawmakers — Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺), Choa Tien-lin (趙天麟), Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) and Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) — seek to represent the party for the Kaohsiung mayoral election after Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu’s (陳菊) candidate, DPP Legislator Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳), decided earlier this month not to participate in the primary.
In Yilan, DPP Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) is to face Dongshan Township (東山) Mayor Hsieh Tsan-hui (謝燦輝) and Yuanshan Township (員山) Mayor Chiang Yung-ho (江永和) in the party primary.
The DPP said it expects to face an uphill battle in the Yilan county commissioner election.
In Chiayi, a showdown is expected between Chiayi County Council Speaker Chang Ming-ta (張明達) and former Council of Agriculture deputy minister Weng Chang-liang (翁章梁).
Chiayi County Government employees reportedly cannot wait for the primary to be over, with some saying that they were forced to “take sides” in the battle between Chang and Ong, who belong to Chiayi Commissioner Helen Chang’s (張花冠) and former Chiayi commissioner Chen Ming-wen’s (陳明文) camps respectively.
The DPP Central Executive Committee is to begin reviewing the aspirants’ qualifications on Wednesday next week, before holding televised sessions from Feb. 1 to Feb. 11, when the candidates can put forward their platforms to voters, Wu said.
The DPP plans to conduct opinion polls from March 5 to March 9 before announcing its nominees on March 14.
If no one is willing to withdraw from the primary before the end of negotiations on Jan. 30, the candidates would be decided by DPP headquarters through the opinion poll results, she said.
The Central Election Commission on Tuesday said that this year’s nine-in-one elections are to take place on Nov. 24.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”