The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday sent its best wishes to its legislative candidates in districts that are traditionally Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) strongholds, describing them as embarking upon a crusade like the “Normandy landings.”
At a campaign event, DPP vice presidential candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) said yesterday was “D-day” of the “Hope Alliance of Normandy Landings,” which is composed of five candidates.
“Hopefully, January 14, 2011, will be the ‘V-Day’ for you,” Su told the candidates.
Kao Chien-chi (高建智), Chiang Yung-chang (江永昌), Hsu Yu-ming (許又銘), former baseball star George Chao (趙士強) and Juan Chao-hsiung (阮昭雄) will run in the districts of Sindian (新店), Jhonghe (中和), Yonghe (永和), Da-an (大安) and Wenshan (文山). Past results show the DPP’s chances of winning in these districts in Taipei and New Taipei City (新北市) are slim.
In response to the analogy drawn by the DPP between the elections and the Normandy landings, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) said he did not think the analogy would be a blessing.
“In history, D-Day was a day when thousands died,” Ting said. “D-day could also be interpreted as Death-day.”
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesperson Christopher Kavanagh, meanwhile, declined to comment on the grounds that he did not know in what context Su mentioned the Normandy landings.
DPP legislative candidates have been seeking catchphrases as a strategy to attract voters attention by forming small alliances.
Previously, five other DPP legislative candidates, who are heavy smartphone users, announced the formation of an alliance called “Congress iPhone 5” late last month and said they would make good lawmakers because of their familiarity with high-tech gadgets and new ideas.
Another eight candidates from districts across the nation named their alliance “Our Generation” and pledged to be the voice of the underprivileged.
Meanwhile, the DPP yesterday announced that Greater Taichung councilor Ho Hsin-chun (何欣純) would be its replacement candidate in Greater Taichung’s seventh district after Ho defeated four other hopefuls in a public opinion poll that pitted the hopefuls against KMT candidate Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文), DPP Deputy Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said.
All five contestants defeated Cheng in the poll, but Ho finished with the largest lead of 40.8 percent to 23 percent, Hung said.
She replaces Chien Chao-tung (簡肇棟), who withdrew from the election earlier this month after his involvement in a hit-and-run car accident that killed one person.
Additional Reporting By Shih Hsiu-chuan
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
RSS