The election for the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) chairperson will not simply be a case of choosing a new DPP leader; it will also be a cut-throat war between DPP factions, who are eager to gain dominance, political analysts said yesterday.
Since Dec. 3, the day that the DPP suffered an unprecedented election debacle in local elections, accusations and self-justification thrown back and forth among different party factions have not ceased. Although everyone in the DPP -- from President Chen Shui-bian (
"Whether the by-election will be a starting point for the DPP's revamp or just a process of unseating someone is my question now," said Chiang Ming-chin (
"I think this by-election will be a sequel to the competition between the DPP's internal factions," Chiang said, pointing out that the candidates running for DPP chair represent different powers within the party.
The three DPP members vying for the post -- former Presidential Office secretary-general Yu Shyi-kun, pro-independence veteran and Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) and former Changhua County commissioner Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) -- have already begun their campaigns.
Wong obtained former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung's (
Although Yu yesterday said in a television interview that the president has not intervened in the campaign and that the election is not an "anti-Chen or pro-Chen" war, political analysts said that Yu's words were opposite to the real situation.
"The by-election is virtually a war between the anti-Chen and pro-Chen powers," political analyst Hsu Yung-ming (
Hsu said that Yu's victory would ensure Chen's power in the DPP, enabling him to retain influence on the political situation even as his presidential term comes to an end.
"The new DPP chairperson will have the right to make the nominations for the 2007 legislative elections and the person who has influence over the legislature or has the say over who to work with will be the person with the real the power," Hsu said.
Each DPP faction is also eyeing the 2008 presidential candidacy, and the chairmanship election will be the first round in that game.
The DPP has about 530,000 members, but only about 230,000 will be eligible to vote in next month's by-election.
According to DPP estimates, the voting rate will be about 40 percent and close to 90,000 members are expected to vote on Jan. 15.
In other words, the candidate who gains more than 50,000 votes will become the new chairperson.
So far, unlike Yu and Chai's active campaign strategies, Wong is taking a more low-key approach to promoting herself.
Wong began visiting local chapters and members on Monday, and over the next few weeks she will talk to social groups and party members belonging to minority groups, according to Wong's assistant Wu Jui-yuan (
"How Lin campaigns for Wong or what he says during the last few days [of the campaign] will be a key to the result," Chiang said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
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