The DPP has established a task force of top officials from the Presidential Office, the Cabinet and party headquarters to be the ultimate decision-making mechanism for its presidential campaign, DPP legislative caucus whip Chen Chi-mai (
"The task force was formed on Aug. 26 and has completed the deployment of the campaign mechanisms in every city and county," Chen said.
Called the "818 task force," the group has two departments, propaganda and organization, which are headed by two of the party's most experienced campaign managers: DPP Secretary General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) and Presidential Secretary General Chiou I-jen (邱義仁).
The propaganda department is responsible for the design and operation of promotional materials and events while the organization department is responsible for mobilizing the rank-and-file supporters in the campaign.
The name 818 comes from the day Chang and Chiou first invited party colleagues to discuss formation of the new task force -- Aug. 18. Among those who attended the meeting were Taipei County Magistrate Su Tseng-chang (
Members of the propaganda department include President Chen Shui-bian's (
The DPP's city mayors and county magistrates are expected to take the lead as the campaign mangers.
Chen said temporary campaign managers would be designated in cities and counties governed by the opposition camp while the party waits for more candidates for those positions to surface as it secures more opposition supporters at the grassroots level.
In predominantly Hakka-populated areas in Taoyuan County, Miaoli County and Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County -- which are the KMT's traditional support bases -- the DPP puts its top guns in charge of expanding support, including Chiou, Ker and secretary to the president Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成).
Su will be responsible for the campaign operations in Taipei City and Taipei County.
"The party giving Su such an important and heavy campaign task in the greater Taipei area shows its trust for Su's capabilities. It also means that whether the DPP wins the presidential election or not, Su has become the party's main leading icon for the future," Chen Chi-mai said.
He said the party's main campaign appeals would revolve around economic resuscitation and domestic reforms, including pushing for referendums on legislative reform, entry to the World Health Organization and construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS