Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday touted his support of women’s issues at the launch of a group for female supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for president.
“My responsibility is to make everyone happy,” Lai told supporters at a launch ceremony for the group.
Men and women both contributed to Taiwan’s democratic transition and freedoms, he said, citing the examples of former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and Control Yuan President Chen Chu (陳菊), who were democracy activists imprisoned during the Formosa Incident in 1979.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
During President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) seven-and-a-half years in office, Taiwan has excelled in evaluations, he added.
Addressing recently reported allegations of sexual misconduct against DPP members, he said that as party chairman, he has taken a zero tolerance approach in handling such cases.
He has also established a gender-friendly work environment for the party, he said.
Photo: CNA
Lai said he was calling for legislation to make it easier for victims of sexual assault and harassment to come forward.
Separately, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, yesterday for the first time publicly apologized to former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) “for not providing enough assistance” to him when he ran for president four years ago.
Hou also criticized the Tsai administration, saying that Taiwanese businesses have been encountering difficulties and economic growth has been stalling, which he said was due to instability in cross-strait relations.
Photo: CNA
The issue is related to whether businesses would choose to invest in Taiwan or move abroad, he said.
Meanwhile, KMT Legislator Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文), who last week said that Hou should be replaced as the party’s presidential nominee due to his low support rate, yesterday said that she had hoped her remarks would help spur change in the party.
Hou’s support rate has fallen since the party nominated him for president, she said.
His nomination divided the party, resulting in Hon Hai Precision Industry cofounder Terry Gou (郭台銘) planning to enter the race independently, she said.
The KMT should hold a primary election to decide its presidential nominee, Cheng said, adding that Hou should convince those who support Gou that he is the best choice through a party primary.
In related news, former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator Tsai Pi-ru (蔡壁如), responding to reporters’ questions on recent rumors of the KMT joining forces with the TPP in the presidential campaign, yesterday said it was not an appropriate time to discuss the matter, considering the conflicts within the KMT.
Even if the two parties were to work together, TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) should be the one leading that coalition and not Hou, she said.
A TVBS poll last month showed that Ko had a support rate of 33 percent, surpassing that of Lai for the first time.
A poll released on Friday by CNews TV also showed Ko in the lead with 30.8 percent support, compared with Lai’s 29.3 percent and Hou’s 18.5 percent.
The poll, conducted from June 28 to July 1, gathered 1,816 valid samples from respondents 20 or older living in 22 cities or counties, including 916 and 900 by landline and cellphone interviews respectively.
The poll claimed a margin of error of 2.31 percentage points.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han and Chen Chien-chih
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