The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) should consider changing its legislator-at-large list for January’s legislative elections to avoid alienating supporters, former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said in a statement from jail yesterday.
Joining the chorus of calls asking the party to reconsider the list of nominees it released on June 30, Chen said there was no reason why several professionals such as Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), a women’s equality advocate, were omitted from the top 16 “safe list” of a roster heavily populated by career politicians.
“The list is definitely not the best possible roster and should not be outshone by the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT]. There is still time and opportunity to make slight changes,” wrote Chen, a former DPP chairman.
His comments could provide critics of the list, which include civic groups and lawmakers who were left off the roster, with ammunition to attack DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) picks.
The roster — and especially the top 16 of the 34 more “guaranteed spots” — is seen as symbolic of factionalism in the DPP.
Chen said Tsai appears to have fallen prey to such pressure, adding that appointing factional representatives and her own aides to top spots at the expense of “more qualified people” was not necessarily the wisest choice.
“Some of the candidates proposed by DPP factions are better suited to run in district elections and it would be a pity to see them avoid the [ballot box],” Chen wrote.
“And if Tsai is so sure of winning, why didn’t she place more of her close aides on the fringes of the list?” he said.
Chen’s remarks on the internal party power struggle follow a recent increase in the quantity of his writings, a move that has landed him in hot water with authorities at Taipei Prison.
Two of his articles were blocked and censored by prison authorities in the past two months, moves that Chen’s allies have called illegal and a violation of the constitutionally protected freedom of expression.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS