President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called on former premier William Lai (賴清德) to stop his supporters from launching attacks and prove himself a trustworthy politician, as competition between the two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members continued to escalate as they seek the DPP nomination for next year’s presidential election.
Tsai made the remarks while visiting the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) to celebrate the nation’s progress in space development, when asked by reporters to comment on Lai’s remarks on Saturday about her so-called “cyberarmy.”
As the second premier in Tsai’s administration from Sept. 8, 2017 to Jan. 14, Lai had voiced his support for Tsai to seek re-election, so when he registered for the party’s presidential primary on March 18, many people were caught off guard.
Photo: CNA
The DPP Central Standing Committee on Wednesday decided to postpone its opinion polls on candidates’ support rates from this month until the party’s legislative primary ends on May 22, sparking criticism that the change is designed to help Tsai, who has trailed Lai in such polls.
No DPP members had inquired about his intention to join the primary before a March 16 legislative by-election, Lai said on Saturday on the sidelines of an event in Tainan, adding that Tsai should stop her cyberarmy from attacking him.
“The number of people attacking me is much more than those criticizing him,” Tsai said yesterday.
If Lai took a closer look at the offensive messages, he would find himself acquainted with those attacking her, to a certain degree, Tsai said, as she urged Lai to restrain his supporters.
Many netizens express their support of her, but they are not a so-called “cyberarmy” paid to launch attacks, she said.
Asked if she would support Lai if he wins the primary, Tsai said that she is a DPP member as well as the president, and as president, there are some things she can do and some things she cannot.
“If Lai hopes to win support, he must prove himself to be supportable and trustworthy,” she said, reminding Lai that “honesty is the basic requirement for any politician serving as a national leader.”
Many Taiwanese firms that were operating in foreign countries have decided to return home, bringing in investments worth nearly NT$120 billion (US$3.9 billion), Tsai said, adding that foreign businesses are continuing to invest in Taiwan.
These phenomena reflect a confidence in Taiwan, and that the government’s policy is correct, she added.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching