Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) became the sole contender in the primary for Yilan County commissioner, after opponents Hsieh Tsan-hui (謝燦輝) and Chiang Yung-ho (江永和) bowed out, the party said yesterday.
Hsieh and Chiang, mayors of Dongshan (東山) and Yuanshan (員山) townships respectively were asked to drop their bids during a meeting at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday, and were asked to “consider the greater good of the party,” a source said.
“I do not like it,” Hsieh said, adding that the party officials at the meeting said that they had reviewed the situation in Yilan and decided on the contenders for the greater good of the party and party solidarity.
Photo: Chien Hui-ju, Taipei Times
Hsieh said that by the time he left the meeting, there were already rumors of Chiang and him backing out, adding that the situation reeked of a pre-arranged scenario and would only cause confusion among supporters.
Chiang said he wished the party would nominate individuals in hopes of finding a person who everyone in the pan-green camp could accept and support.
With their withdrawal from the primary, Hsieh and Chiang would not be participating in televised debates or popularity polls, DPP spokesperson Ho Meng-hua (何孟樺) said.
With the party reportedly paving the way for Chen by removing Hsieh and Chiang, chances are still high that it might yet tap Yilan County Acting Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德) as a candidate, pundits said.
Asked for comment, Chen Ou-po said that he adhered to the party’s nomination processes and would respect its decisions.
Chen Ou-po denied that the meeting on Tuesday sought to dissuade Hsieh and Chiang from running, adding that all three contenders reached the consensus that they must stand united and keep the larger picture in mind.
Regarding rumors that Derek Chen could be tapped for nomination, Chen Ou-po said that there would be no such option once the party initiates the registration process for the primary.
Asked if he was worried that the party would not name him and would instead announce Chen Ou-po as its candidate, Derek Chen said during an interview that he was not in a position to comment, as he had not registered for the primary.
The DPP is facing difficult challenges in Yilan County, and it would require collective wisdom and strength to handle the county commissioner election, Derek Chen said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS