Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said he is to leave the post with many “beautiful memories,” including presiding over the party’s primary process to decide the presidential ticket and the party’s success in January’s national elections.
Yesterday was the last time Cho presided over a meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee, as he is to turn over the party’s reins to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday next week, when she is to be inaugurated for a second term as president and serve concurrently as party chairperson.
DPP Secretary-General Luo Wen-jia (羅文嘉), a former top aide to then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), and DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), one of the prominent youth leaders of the 2014 Sunflower Movement, are also to leave office on the same day, as Tsai is expected to bring along her own team to fill the party’s executive positions.
Media speculation about the their next moves is rife, including running as DPP candidates in future elections, Cabinet appointments or working for public foundations.
The three were mum when asked by reporters yesterday.
After the meeting, Cho said he is satisfied with the work that has been done with the contributions of party executives and all DPP members.
“That we have successfully made it through this past more than one year ... I will leave with many ‘beautiful memories’ and finish up with a meaningful full-stop,” he said.
Cho, who started his tenure in January last year, recounted presiding over by-elections for vacant legislator seats, the internal process to decide on the presidential and vice presidential nominees, and the arduous campaign for the presidential and legislative races, culminating in the party’s victory on Jan. 11.
He encouraged all party members to work selflessly for reform, and not to forget society’s expectations that “we must pass on these worthwhile traditions to the next generation.”
“There will always be winners and losers in a competition, and we all must deal with the result in a rational way,” he said.
However, Cho said he would also leave with some regrets as he was unable to mediate some disputes, such as an internal election to choose the head of the DPP’s regional office for Taipei, with former legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) and former Taipei City councilor Wang Hsiao-wei (王孝維) vying for the position.
Cho in the afternoon said talks were under way to resolve the differences between the two camps, and if no agreement can be achieved by 8pm, then the election for Taipei party office chief would be suspended for the time being.
As of press time last night, party officials said they were drafting a statement regarding a decision that would be announced today.
He also rejected allegations by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members about a campaign to recall Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), saying: “Our party is not directly involved in this. We have only followed its development closely.”
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT: Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the meeting next month, Japanese sources said The holding of a Japan-US leaders’ meeting ahead of US President Donald Trump’s visit to China is positive news for Taiwan, former Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association representative Hiroyasu Izumi said yesterday. After the Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory in Japan’s House of Representatives election, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is scheduled to visit the US next month, where she is to meet with Trump ahead of the US president’s planned visit to China from March 31 to April 2 for a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Japan and the US are expected to hold in-depth discussions on Taiwan-related issues during the
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday bestowed one of Taiwan’s highest honors on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Ambassador Andrea Clare Bowman in recognition of her contributions to bilateral ties. “By conferring the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Ambassador Bowman today, I want to sincerely thank her, on behalf of the Taiwanese people, for her outstanding contribution to deepening diplomatic ties between Taiwan and SVG,” Lai said at a ceremony held at the Presidential Office in Taipei. He noted that Bowman became SVG’s first ambassador to Taiwan in 2019 and
RSS