Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) New Taipei City (新北市) mayoral primary, saying he did not have enough time to prepare for the campaign.
Lo’s withdrawal left the primary with two aspirants, former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) and former DPP legislator Chuang Shuo-han (莊碩漢), with Yu regarded as the odds-on favorite.
Accompanied by former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Lo officially announced his decision to drop out of the race yesterday morning after a visit to Tsai’s office.
Photo: CNA
“As party headquarters’ strategic considerations and scheduling decision have left me with little time to prepare for my campaign, I hereby announce my decision to withdraw from the primary. Hopefully, my withdrawal will help the party win the election,” said Lo, director of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter.
Tsai said she respected Lo’s decision and praised him for making his best effort for the campaign.
There have been reports that DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) favored Yu’s nomination in the primary in exchange for Yu’s support in the DPP chairmanship election next year.
During negotiations conducted by a task force designated by DPP headquarters on Thursday, the three aspirants agreed that a public opinion poll would be held on Dec. 2 to determine the winner of the winner, although Lo and Chuang had hoped that the survey would be conducted at a later date.
Responding to reporters’ questions, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) reiterated that all three aspirants agreed on the survey date, adding that based on the party’s primary regulations, a poll must be held within one month after party negotiations, unless aspirants agree on a later date.
In related news, the DPP announced that former legislator Lee Wen-chung (李文忠) had defeated former legislator Tang Huo-sheng (湯火聖) in a public opinion poll in Nantou County, making him the party’s representative in the Nantou commissioner election next year.
Lee won the poll by a “considerable margin,” Lin said, but “in respect of Lee and Tang’s agreement, we will not disclose the survey’s exact figures.”
The DPP is expected to finalize its first group of candidates for the mayoral and commissioner elections next year after its Central Executive Committee meeting today and officially announce seven nominees.
Three of the seven nominees would be candidates who won party primaries in the past month, including Nantou County’s Lee Wen-chung, Pan Men-an (潘孟安) of Pingtung County and Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) of Yunlin County.
The other four are all incumbent mayors and commissioners, including Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢).
The DPP’s primary regulations stipulate that all incumbent mayors and commissioners who seek re-election would automatically qualify as the party’s candidates in the local elections.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS