President William Lai (賴清德) today said that he would personally accept all criticism of the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) shortcomings, following disappointing results in Saturday’s recall election.
During a meeting of the DPP Central Standing Committee, Lai in his capacity as party chairman apologized to all civic groups and DPP supporters who were involved in the recall effort, and thanked them for their hard work collecting petition signatures through scorching heat and pouring rain.
The recall vote — which saw all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators on the ballot retain their offices — followed petitions from civil groups initiated according to the Constitution, he said, adding that the party and public must respectfully accept the nation’s decision.
Photo courtesy of the Democratic Progressive Party
As the ruling party, the DPP would take all public concerns that arose during the recall movement seriously, from the upholding of Constitutional and democratic order, to national security, he said.
Hopefully, movements would in the future involve further dialogue as opposed to confrontation, he added.
Lai acknowledged that Saturday’s result left many feeling disappointed, saying that he also felt regretful.
However, “we must turn this disappointment into bravery, hope and strength, while turning regret into determination to initiate reforms,” he added.
A further seven districts are set to host recall elections on Aug. 23.
Lai said he has instructed the party’s central office and local party officials in the relevant constituencies to stand side-by-side with every citizen and group working toward the next recall effort.
Also this afternoon, Lai formally accepted DPP Secretary-General Lin Yu-chang's (林右昌) resignation, which he tendered on Sunday after the recall defeat.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Ho Po-wen (何博文) is to temporarily hold the position concurrently with his current role, Lai said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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