Former Tainan county commissioner Su Huan-chih (蘇煥智) yesterday said he would leave the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and run in the Nov. 24 Taipei mayoral election.
“I hereby officially announce that I will run for Taipei mayor,” Su said at a news conference in Taipei. “Taiwan cannot wait any more and the people cannot wait any longer.”
“I solemnly announce that I am leaving the DPP, of which I have been a member for 27 years,” he said. “I am leaving the DPP, but will not leave Taiwan’s democratic movement, but rather push forward and deepen Taiwan’s democracy.”
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Taipei is Taiwan’s window to the world, a place where unlimited creativity, talented people and abundant resources come together, Su said, adding that it is also the engine of the nation’s development, but it needs thorough change.
“If the problem of low birth rates can be solved in Taipei, it can be solved elsewhere,” Su said. “I want to join the election to speed up solutions for our low birth rate.”
Taiwan’s economy would thrive if the city’s economy, technology, culture and arts prosper, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been in office for one year and nine months, but the DPP government has failed to come up with effective solutions for the nation’s economic difficulties, low birth rate, aging society and poverty, Su said.
“A good leader should think about how to use the people’s strength … and the government should try to remove the obstacles that stop people from exercising their strengths,” he said, adding that he would visit every corner of Taipei, listen to people and “together find the city’s vitality and dreams.”
He criticized former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for focusing on the six special municipalities, which Su said has lead to 70 percent of the population living in these areas, as well as financial inequality between the municipalities and other areas.
China and Germany have tax-sharing systems that give local governments more power and financial resources, Su said, adding that if he were to be elected, he would shift power and resources to Taipei’s districts, boroughs and communities to encourage local autonomy “so that everyone can contribute to the city.”
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that Su’s announcement came as no surprise.
However, “it is strange that he wants to leave his party,” Ko said.
DPP Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智), who is seeking the DPP’s nomination for Taipei mayoral candidate, said he hoped that Su would reconsider his decision to withdraw from the party.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS