Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who is expected to assume the post of Presidential Office secretary-general later this month, is to visit former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) on Monday to discuss matters relating to the year-end New Taipei City mayoral election, sources said yesterday.
The visit is likely an attempt to persuade Su to run in the election as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate, the sources said.
From 1997 to 2004, Su was county commissioner for then-Taipei County. The county became New Taipei City in 2010.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), as well as Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻), have expressed an interest in running as the DPP’s candidate in the New Taipei City mayoral election, but local opinion polls have shown that each has a support rating of less than 20 percent.
According to a private poll conducted by the DPP, Su is evenly matched with former New Taipei City deputy mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who was yesterday confirmed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) as its candidate for the election.
Both Su and Hou have garnered a support rating of more than 40 percent, with Su only trailing slightly behind Hou by a margin of less than 1 percentage point, the poll showed.
When pitted against Hou, former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) is bested by a margin of about 20 percentage points, it showed.
Wu, a member of Su’s faction, has been campaigning at the grassroots level since last year, but has failed to match up to Hou in polls.
If his party has considerations other than nominating younger members, it might as well nominate someone that has the best chance of winning the election, Wu said in an interview.
Asked for comment yesterday, Su’s daughter, DPP Legislator Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), said only that her father’s positions align with the general consensus of the party, which is to win New Taipei City, adding that she believed DPP headquarters would make a wise decision.
Sources said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is also DPP chairperson, is scheduled to meet with Lo, Wu and Yu today.
The planned meeting prompted media speculation about whether it could be Tsai’s move to clear the path for Su to represent the DPP in the New Taipei City mayoral election.
DPP spokeswoman Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) yesterday said the DPP would not rush to nominate its candidate for the New Taipei City mayoral election, but would decide “after all things had been considered.”
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park this weekend, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a theme food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances. Pokemon Go Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as photo attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs. Pokemon trainers could also experience the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area. Three PokeStops are to be set up in the park. Trainers are invited to take
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