Former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) on Monday announced that she would represent the Formosa Alliance in next year’s presidential elections.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was left scrambling to prevent a potential split in its voter base, calling on Lu, as well as the spiritual leader of the Taiwan Action Party Alliance and former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), to help maintain pan-green solidarity.
Lu and her vice presidential running mate, Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯), yesterday morning registered their candidacy with the Central Election Commission in Taipei and submitted the required NT$1 million (US$32,222) guarantee.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that pan-green supporters were saddened to see a split in the pan-green camp.
The DPP must be cautious about how it handles Lu throwing her hat in the ring, as she has a certain amount of backing and is familiar with the party’s inner workings, Huang said.
As Lu would have the support of deep-green groups, she would present a major threat to Tsai, Huang added.
Chen has considerable support in southern Taiwan, Huang said, urging the former president to side with the DPP in the presidential and legislative elections.
Tsai’s campaign manager, Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄), said that her campaign team respected Lu’s decision and was mindful of Lu’s contribution to Taiwan’s democratization.
However, Taiwan faces Beijing’s oppression on every front and its supporters must be on the same page, Juan said, citing the party’s disciplinary regulations, which stipulate that any party member who announces their intention to run without the party’s support should have their membership revoked.
DPP headquarters director Chen Cheng-te (陳正德) said that once Lu’s Formosa Alliance candidacy is formally recognized, the DPP would follow its disciplinary regulations.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said at an event in Yunlin County that he hoped to have the chance to meet with Lu and discuss the issue, adding that it was his duty to consider what is best for Taiwan.
Additional reporting by Huang Shu-li
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT: The bill with US$2 billion in Foreign Military Financing Program funds and US$1.9 billion to replenish defense articles passed the House 385-34 Taiwan is to continue working with the US to ensure peace in the Taiwan Strait, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday after the US House of Representatives approved a US$95 billion foreign aid package with funding for Taiwan. The bills were passed with bipartisan support in a rare Saturday session after votes had been delayed for months by House Republicans. After clearing the House, the bills — containing US$8 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific region, along with US$60.8 billion for Kyiv, and US$26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones — would be combined into a
The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday. The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The corvettes, launched in February and June last year respectively, were delivered to the navy in February. They are the third and fourth Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes to be produced. The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a domestically designed and manufactured class of fast and stealthy multipurpose corvette built for the