Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said he may meet with National Taiwan University physician Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as early as next week to discuss Ko’s strained relationship with the party.
Ko, an independent who has been leading all pan-green camp aspirants in the DPP primary for Taipei mayor in public approval ratings, has been mulling whether to join the party.
Several DPP aspirants, in particular former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), have vehemently opposed Ko’s inclusion in the party primary as a non-DPP member, saying that the move would counter party consolidation.
Although Ko’s supporters say that he can run as an independent if the party does not nominate a candidate for the Taipei race, slated to be held on Dec. 6 next year, Su appeared to have eliminated that scenario yesterday.
“The DPP has fielded a candidate in every Taipei mayoral election, as every political party should do,” he said.
The chairman’s comment implied that the DPP would definitely nominate a candidate for the mayoral contest, so if Ko does not join the party, there will be two pan-green camp candidates in the race.
On Monday, lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who is trying to win the four-way race to secure the party’s nod, unveiled his campaign theme: “Good Taipei+,” at a press conference attended by eight of the DPP’s 22 Taipei City councilors to show their support.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
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US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to