Annie Lee (李安妮), the daughter of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), has been invited to be included on the Taiwan Solidarity Union’s (TSU) legislators-at-large list, according to party officials.
The 47-year-old daughter of Taiwan’s first democratically elected president could be listed as No. 1 on the roster in an attempt to push the party vote above 5 percent and garner the TSU a seat — even though it remains uncertain whether she plans to accept the invitation.
“She’s considering the idea and hasn’t given a response,” TSU Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) said.
TSU Chairman Huang Kun-huei (黃昆輝) will reportedly discuss the proposal on Monday when the legislator at-large roster is finalized.
This isn’t the first time the TSU has hoped that Annie Lee, a women’s rights advocate, would represent the party in major elections. She was asked in 2002 to represent the party in the Taipei mayoral elections against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), an offer she rejected.
The TSU, which had 12 legislators after winning 7.8 percent of the vote in 2001, has since failed to get a single national lawmaker elected since 2008 — although it is hoping to capitalize on a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rebound and campaigning by Lee Teng-hui, its spiritual leader.
DPP lawmakers have said it is “no surprise” that the smaller pro-independence party hopes to nominate Annie Lee to drive up not only vote recognition, but its general prospects.
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said “the TSU plans to nominate Annie Lee based on their political considerations.”
The news comes after her father was indicted on corruption charges. The 88-year-old has been indicted by prosecutors for siphoning US$7.8 million from secret diplomatic funds to establish a private think tank when he was in office between 1988 and 2000. He has called the allegations baseless.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS