The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced that its Taipei chapter chairperson election has been suspended until President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) takes over as party chair following her second inauguration on Wednesday next week.
Former legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) and former Taipei city councilor Wang Hsiao-wei (王孝維) have accused each other of bribery, with Wang alleging that Hsueh’s campaign team was behind reports of his criminal record 42 years ago.
The disciplinary committee investigating the issue reported its findings to the DPP Central Standing Committee meeting on Wednesday, stating that the fighting between the two campaigns was detrimental to party unity.
While both camps have toned down their allegations after warnings, the feud has damaged the party’s reputation in the public’s eye, the report said.
Article 22 of the DPP’s Regulations on Disciplinary Committee Rulings states that allegations on the party or its members failing to pass through proper channels within the party and ultimately causing the loss of reputation for the individual is punishable by deprivation of party privileges for up to two years.
DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) had given Hsueh and Wang until 8pm on Wednesday to reach an agreement not to slander the other or the Taipei election would be suspended, while other party elections would proceed as scheduled.
It was regrettable that Hsueh and Wang could not exercise more self-restraint and refrain from further attacks, Cho said.
The DPP must ensure the smooth progression, as well as the legality, of elections of party positions, he said.
“We must live up to the public’s expectations of what the DPP should be — a responsible political party that supports democracy,” he said.
All members should abide by party regulations and defend the party’s values, he added.
Taiwanese scientists have engineered plants that can capture about 50 percent more carbon dioxide and produce more than twice as many seeds as unmodified plants, a breakthrough they hope could one day help mitigate global warming and grow more food staples such as rice. If applied to major food crops, the new system could cut carbon emissions and raise yields “without additional equipment or labor costs,” Academia Sinica researcher and lead author the study Lu Kuan-jen (呂冠箴) said. Academia Sinica president James Liao (廖俊智) said that as humans emit 9.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide compared with the 220 billion tonnes absorbed
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
Taipei is to implement widespread road closures around Taipei 101 on Friday to make way for large crowds during the Double Ten National Day celebration, the Taipei Department of Transportation said. A four-minute fireworks display is to be launched from the skyscraper, along with a performance by 500 drones flying in formation above the nearby Nanshan A21 site, starting at 10pm. Vehicle restrictions would occur in phases, they said. From 5pm to 9pm, inner lanes of Songshou Road between Taipei City Hall and Taipei 101 are to be closed, with only the outer lanes remaining open. Between 9pm and 9:40pm, the section is
China’s plan to deploy a new hypersonic ballistic missile at a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) base near Taiwan likely targets US airbases and ships in the western Pacific, but it would also present new threats to Taiwan, defense experts said. The New York Times — citing a US Department of Defense report from last year on China’s military power — on Monday reported in an article titled “The missiles threatening Taiwan” that China has stockpiled 3,500 missiles, 1.5 times more than four years earlier. Although it is unclear how many of those missiles were targeting Taiwan, the newspaper reported
RSS