Acting Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) today announced he would run for party chair with the election set to be held next month.
Former party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) resigned earlier this month, as he is still being held in detention as part of an ongoing investigation into the Core Pacific City redevelopment corruption case.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Huang announced his candidacy on Facebook this morning, saying his goal is to “strengthen Taiwan’s third force,” referring to the party.
“Taiwan’s third force is a hard-earned flame that is vital for future democratic development and must not be extinguished,” he said.
The party needs to focus on three goals, Huang said.
First, it needs to find more leaders to guide society toward steady progress in next year’s local elections, he said.
Second, it must maintain its responsibility to curb the expansion of government power and speak up for the people, he said.
“Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese people, not to the Democratic Progressive Party,” he said.
Third, it must carry the spark ignited by Ko, building the blueprint for Taiwan’s future development, he said.
While Ko is unable to lead the party, Huang would make every effort to move the party forward, bringing about reforms and progress that Taiwan needs, he said.
“Comrades, let us work together so that Ko will be proud of this party when he returns,” Huang said.
The election for party chair is to take place on Feb. 15 from 9am to 4pm through online voting, the party said.
Candidates must have joined the party before Feb. 14 last year and been a Central Committee member to qualify, according to party regulations.
The party’s top leaders have agreed to support Huang, people familiar with the matter said.
Huang has the unanimous support of the party and no one dares challenge him for the position, an anonymous party member said.
The only other eligible party member with sufficient backing is founding party member Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如).
During a political talk show yesterday, Tsai said she would not necessarily run and would only decide after discussing it with key party leaders.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS