Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has vowed to work hard on campaigning for the seven-in-one elections in November, despite his decision to not seek re-election or to run in Taoyuan’s mayoral election, politicians who met with Su yesterday quoted him as saying.
Former DPP lawmakers Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠), Kuo Jung-tsung (郭榮宗) and Liao Pen-yen (廖本煙) visited Su at the party’s headquarters a day after the DPP leader’s surprise announcement that he is dropping out of next month’s chairmanship election.
With former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also pulling out of the chairman race, former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is expected to win the election.
Su has not made any public appearances since Monday’s announcement, but met yesterday with the trio of former legislators and some other politicians who wanted to show support to his decision.
After the visit, Liao quoted Su as saying he would keep campaigning for DPP candidates across the country with the same dedication he has put into the nomination process until his tenure as chairman ends next month.
Lee said they were unable to persuade Su to run in the Taoyuan mayoral election in November, when Taoyuan County’s status is to be upgraded to a special municipality.
Su’s aides reiterated that he has no plan to enter any of the races in November.
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday said that since he is no longer vying for the party chairmanship, he would like to devote his energy to a pair of initiatives.
“First, Taiwan’s democracy needs an upgrade that will bring about more deliberation, communication, discussion and assessment — like what the students and other protesters did in their three-week occupation of the legislature,” Hsieh said.
The second would be stopping the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), he added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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