Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) yesterday announced that he would not seek re-election next year, citing a desire to retire from politics and care for an ill family member.
Lim said in a statement that he has a family member who has been ill with “a rare disease” for two years, prompting his decision to retire.
Lim thanked Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City councilors Liu Yao-ren (劉耀仁), Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and Jocelyn Hung (洪婉臻) for demonstrating a spirit of cross-party cooperation in working with him, despite being busy preparing for next year’s elections.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
He would fully support the DPP’s candidates, he said.
“Members of the DPP and other government officials have repeatedly urged me over the past few days to reconsider, and it is with a heavy heart that I make this decision,” he said.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said that Lim had always been regarded as a “high-quality legislator,” who had been a partner to the DPP on many occasions.
“We regret to see Lim go, but we respect his decision. We will take his choice not to run into consideration when nominating our own candidates,” Chang said. “During his tenure, he successfully promoted many progressive bills and made possible the completion of many construction projects.”
Lim said that his constituency — Taipei’s fifth electoral district covering Zhongzheng (中正) and Wanhua (萬華) districts — is considered a challenging one, but he believes that a good candidate with new strategies and good energy could bring positive change.
“Everyone’s worry is that if I do not run, the Zhongzheng and Wanhua constituency will regress, but I believe this will open the seat up to someone with more positive energy, increasing the impetus for progress there,” he said.
Lim said his aim as a legislator had been to act as a bridge for change with the districts’ talented young people, to help them realize their vision for Taiwan.
“Bringing together young people has always been an important task for me,” he said.
In his remaining time in office, he would continue to work hard for the constituency and seek ways to work toward his goal of Taiwan being seen as a “normal country with dignity,” he said.
Lim told reporters that his decision not to run had to be made as early as possible to give the DPP time to prepare a candidate for the constituency.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) had previously expressed interest in contesting the constituency.
Additional reporting by Chen Cheng-yu
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS