Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) plans to nominate at least 34 candidates for legislator-at-large seats in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
While Ko has yet to confirm whether he would run for president, he has said that one of the party’s goals is to win several legislative seats.
Following the TPP’s formal establishment on Tuesday and his election as chairman, Ko said in a radio interview later in the day that the party would nominate the maximum number of candidates for 34 legislator-at-large seats, because they should have “the determination to fight across the world (征戰天下).”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Asked by reporters to elaborate on his plans, Ko yesterday said that he did not want to repeat the New Power Party’s (NPP) strategic mistake in the 2016 legislative elections, when it only nominated six candidates for legislators-at-large.
Although the NPP had a high approval rating of more than 10 percent before the elections, many of its supporters thought that if it received more than the needed number of votes for six seats, the excess votes would be wasted, so some turned to vote for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates, Ko said.
He added that he also has to think of the gender equality requirement for legislators-at-large and the risks of a nominee dropping out.
The NPP caucus is facing the risk of being dissolved, as it requires three party members to form a caucus, Ko said.
He was referring to the NPP’s suspension last month of Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal amid allegations of influence peddling and abuse of power.
Asked if he aims to replace the NPP in the Legislative Yuan with his party’s members, Ko said the TPP is still searching for suitable nominees, but it can only recruit new members after it receives the Ministry of the Interior’s official approval.
Winning legislative seats from constituency votes will be more difficult for the TPP, so it will focus on securing legislator-at-large seats next year, he said.
Nominees who fail to secure a seat next year can serve as assistants or office director for those who do, which should help train them for future posts, he said in the interview.
Asked if he is worried that the TPP might attract unwanted members from other parties because it allows dual-party membership, Ko said that he hopes to transcend the pan-blue and pan-green camps with this strategy, so people of either camps can exist harmoniously in society.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
RSS