Former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday urged the New Power Party (NPP) to continue with its election campaign despite its tight budget and think about what it stands for.
“The NPP is feeling alive again,” Chen wrote on Facebook after meeting with NPP Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), NPP office director Chen Hui-min (陳惠敏) and Kaohsiung City Councilor Lin Yu-kai (林于凱), who visited his home in Kaohsiung.
The meeting was arranged on Hsu’s request and lasted for about an hour, NPP spokesman Lee Chao-li (李兆立) said, adding that it was a learning experience for Hsu.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
The NPP would like to visit a senior politician, given that it has nominated legislative candidates in Kaohsiung and has city councilors there, Lee said.
Chen Shui-bian was particularly interested in the NPP’s campaign in the city’s Fongshan District (鳳山) and encouraged the NPP to conduct an election campaign that is “true to itself,” Lee said.
The group discussed general matters as well as the nation’s political landscape, Chen Hui-min said, adding that the former president, who is on medical parole, seemed to have retained his sharp senses.
Chen Shui-bian encouraged the NPP to have individuality, make the most of a financially difficult campaign and think clearly what its purpose is, he said.
Chen Shui-bian told them that he had initially thought that the NPP lacked a clear objective and was on the brink of dissolution, which worried him, as he believed that the NPP performed well at the legislature, Chen Hui-min said.
Meeting with Hsu allayed Chen Shui-bian’s worries and he was convinced that the party “would not fall apart,” Chen Hui-min said.
The former president said he had been brainstorming about how to help President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) win the election, adding that if it was a head-to-head race between Tsai and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate, Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Tsai had a greater chance of winning, Chen Hui-min said.
If Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) or Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) entered as a third candidate, Tsai would need to think about whether she needs a new strategy, Chen Shui-bian was quoted as saying.
The former president urged Chen Hui-min to visit markets and show up at intersections to boost her visibility in her run a legislative seat representing Fongshan, as this would help her against mobilization by the KMT, which hinges on an old network, Chen Hui-min said.
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,”
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
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS