The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is striving to build cooperation among pan-green parties in light of recent developments in the political scene, DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday.
Cho said he had contacted New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) to schedule a meeting next week to discuss forging an alliance under the proposed banner of “safeguarding Greater Taiwan.”
The move comes after Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) on Thursday quit the NPP to run as an independent in his Taipei electoral district, while Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Wednesday announced that he was forming a new party.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
“Our talk will focus on collaboration, working together for Taiwan’s best interests and to implement national development programs,” Cho said of the planned meeting with Chiu. “The DPP is looking to help pro-Taiwan forces.”
Chiu yesterday met with NPP Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), after which he said that the party would support President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-election bid.
“I look forward to discussing with Cho the nomination of candidates in competing electorates,” Chiu said. “I also want to talk to Cho about judicial reform, amending injustices in housing policies, parliamentary reform and other important issues.”
Earlier yesterday, Cho wrote on Facebook about recent political developments, saying that the “DPP does not want to see events creating distrust and break-ups.”
“The DPP has always sought to see the pro-Taiwan forces grow and become stronger,” he wrote.
Lim’s departure has sparked conflict in the NPP, while Ko’s action has divided previously cooperative partnerships, he wrote.
“The coalition of forces opposed to China is breaking up and the pro-Taiwan force is splitting,” Cho wrote. “It is regretful to see this happening.”
“When China sees that our pro-Taiwan forces cannot work together due to internal conflicts, it will see that its opportunity has come,” he said.
“The DPP is willing to offer front-line troops as it forges an alliance for dialogue and cooperation among like-minded parties and groups,” he said.
TENSE SITUATION: If the storm does not bring rain, Taiwan might have to wait until next month amid water scarcity in the center and south, an expert said Typhoon Surigae is to bring rain to the nation’s east coast and mountainous areas in central and southern Taiwan from Wednesday to Friday, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 1,170km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The radius of the storm was 280km, and it was moving northwest at 9kph, with a maximum wind speed of 198kph. The bureau forecasts that the storm would switch to a northerly direction when approaching the east coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines on Wednesday, CWB forecaster Lin Ding-yi (林定宜) said, adding that Surigae would
INTERNATIONAL WEED DAY: Advocates are to hold a demonstration to push for the decriminalization of marijuana and allowing its use for treatment of certain conditions It is time for Taiwanese society to examine the medical benefits of cannabis, in line with the international trend to lift restrictions on and decriminalize the use of marijuana, two legislators said yesterday, ahead of tomorrow’s “Rally for Equal Rights for Cannabis” in Taipei. Taiwan is one of a few countries holding a “420 International Weed Day” event — which usually takes place around the April 20 weekend — as most nations have canceled it this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said organizer Green Sensation, which is composed of doctors, lawyers and entertainers, among others. The group released a
SEEKING CLARITY: Some members of the US delegation asked KMT legislators in a meeting to address their party’s position on the so-called ‘1992 consensus,’ sources said A US delegation tasked by US President Joe Biden to reaffirm the country’s commitment to its partnership with Taiwan yesterday wrapped up a three-day visit to Taipei. Former US senator Chris Dodd, former US deputy secretaries of state Richard Armitage and James Steinberg, and US Department of State Office of Taiwan Coordination Director Dan Biers departed at 11:20am on a private jet. The members of the delegation, all friends of Biden, arrived on Wednesday and met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and other government officials. During the three-day visit, the delegation also met with six members of the Legislative
‘AN EXCUSE’: The intent of Beijing’s incursions was ‘intimidation and coercion,’ a senior US official said, adding that China was using the US to justify its actions Chinese carrier drills and stepped-up incursions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone in the past few weeks are meant to send a message to Washington to stand down and back off, security sources in Taipei said. The increased activity — which China, unusually, described as “combat drills” on Wednesday — has raised alarm in both Taipei and Washington, although security officials do not see it as a sign of an imminent attack. Rather, at least some of the exercises are practicing “access denial” maneuvers to prevent foreign forces from coming to Taipei’s defense in a war, one official familiar with Taiwan’s security
RSS