Tue, Jul 29, 2014 - Page 8
It would not be surprising if the public feels as if the Taipei mayoral campaign has been going on forever.
First there was the raucous and prolonged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) primary, which resulted in the selection of an independent candidate backed by the pan-green camp’s Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). However, the nine-in-one elections to be held on Nov. 29 are still four months away.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who is seeking re-election, enjoys a lead of almost 40 percentage points over Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興), a public opinion poll released yesterday showed.
In a rematch between Chen, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and Yang, who ran against Chen four years ago, the mayor routed Yang 58.7 percent to 19.1 percent in the latest survey by the Want Want China Times poll center, the Chinese-language China Times reported yesterday.
By Chris Wang and Loa Iok-sin / Staff reporters
The campaign office of independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) pledged to review the hiring of a substitute services military draftee as the office’s information technology adviser after a media outlet reported the controversial move yesterday.
Yen Yi-cheng (顏易程), a draftee of the three-year research and development substitute services, has been working as an aide to Ko in charge of the campaign office’s Internet services and security system, the Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday reported.
‘CAN’T DO’ ATTITUDE:The independent candidate rejected Sean Lien’s criticism that the policy was not feasible, saying his rival lacks the determination to tackle the issue
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that his campaign platform on public housing, which aims to build 50,000 rent-only units in the city, is “workable” and that his main rival’s criticism shows “his unwillingness to tackle the housing issue.”
“Public housing is a difficult task, but a mayor has to have the determination to resolve it and has to be at least aggressive,” Ko said during a campaign stop at the Social Housing Advocacy Consortium, in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) campaign office statement that Ko’s plan was not feasible.
CHANGHUA DEAL?The party visited the father of an independent hopeful in the county to discuss a partnership, but said it still thinks its candidate can win
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said it was cautiously optimistic about the Greater Taichung mayoral election in November, with the party’s candidate, DPP Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), leading incumbent Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) by almost 20 percentage points in the party’s latest survey.
“In a poll conducted by the DPP three days ago, Lin enjoyed a comfortable lead of 48 percent to Hu’s 29 percent. Moreover, 45.3 percent of respondents favored Lin as the winner, with only 29.6 percent picking Hu, who is seeking re-election,” DPP spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) said.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he has been trying to recruit political commentator Yao Li-ming (姚立明) as his campaign director to widen the appeal of his efforts to lead the capital, which he says will focus on garnering non-partisan support.
Responding to a report by Chinese-language newspaper the Apple Daily, Ko told reporters that he had offered Yao, a professor in Chinese Culture University’s Department of Public Administration and Management, the position, but no decision has been made yet.
DEMOCRACY:Two new initiatives — Youth Power and Youth Council — aim to get young people voting and discussing political issues, DPP officials said
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday announced two youth-oriented programs aimed at encouraging the young to participate in politics, which it says is crucial to deepening Taiwan’s democracy and reforming the party.
The first program, Youth Power, encourages people aged 23 to 40 to participate in the November elections for township councilors and borough and village wardens.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Public opinion polls released yesterday showed that independent Taipei mayoral hopeful Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) remain head and shoulders above their respective opponents in the run-up to the year-end elections, while Taoyuan County Commissioner John Wu (吳志揚) has erased his deficit in the rankings.
The polls in the three constituencies were conducted by the Chinese-language Apple Daily.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
If the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is able to do well in the seven-in-one elections in November, Beijing would have no option but to adjust its strategy toward the party because it has always been pragmatic, DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in an interview.
“Simply put, whoever seizes the momentum, others would shift toward the powerful side,” Tsai said in response to a question about the DPP’s relations with Beijing in an interview with the Chinese-language CommonWealth Magazine published on Wednesday.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) should apply the same standards when replacing its candidates in November’s seven-in-one elections because they are involved in allegations of corruption, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday.
“If Keelung City Council Speaker Huang Ching-tai (黃景泰) is to be stripped of his nomination for the Keelung mayoral election due to his role in an alleged corruption case, why are candidate for Taitung County commissioner Justin Huang (黃健庭) and candidate for Miaoli County commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) able to retain their nominations?” DPP spokesperson Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) asked at a press conference in Taipei.
Tue, Jul 08, 2014 - Page 8
For those who are familiar with the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) history, the seven-in-one elections in November would be reminiscent of the mayoral and commissioner elections in 1997, when the party defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in terms of the number of elected mayors and commissioners.
To most people’s surprise, the DPP achieved its most successful campaign in local elections to date, going from having six local government leaders to 12. The result put it ahead of the KMT’s eight and left the DPP in charge of 70 percent of the nation’s population.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislator Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) yesterday said she had not ruled out running for Changhua County commissioner in November as an independent despite such a move possibly hurting the pan-green camp’s chances of winning the constituency.
“Whether or not a candidate should run in an election should be decided by the voters, not by political parties,” Huang, who was stripped of her TSU membership because she insisted on running, told a press conference.
‘PRINCELING’ TRIO:Mayoral candidate Yu Shyi-kun said New Taipei City’s mayor was part of a group from political families, urging people to vote against them
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched his bid for another four-year term yesterday by completing his registration with the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) local chapter, vowing to stay in the race to the end amid speculation that he could abandon the mayor’s office to focus on the 2016 presidential election.
After he completed the registration process, Chu told reporters that his re-election campaign headquarters would be established at an appropriate date, adding that his campaign team would be comprised of people from every sector of society.
NOT CHASING CHU:The DPP chairperson said that her role as campaign director for New Taipei City mayoral candidate Yu Shyi-kun was returning a favor to a colleague
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday dismissed a rumor alleging that she is trying to “annihilate” New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) potential presidential campaign two years in advance.
She also made remarks on what she described as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) traditional smear campaign tactics.
‘IRREPLACEABLE’:Tsai cited Yu’s experience as premier and Yilan County commissioner as he readies to face the DPP’s toughest opponent in Mayor Eric Chu
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday campaigned for the party’s New Taipei City mayoral candidate, Yu Shyi-kun, denying rumors that Yu would eventually be replaced.
“The election will be a challenge for us, but we are determined to achieve the best results,” Tsai said at a breakfast meeting in the city’s Banciao District (板橋) yesterday morning, a day after Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) announced his decision to run for re-election.
‘NUMBERS GAME’:Yu Shyi-kun focused on his ‘1453’ social housing policy, while Lin Chi-chia touted his ‘54321’ platform. They are to debate again on Wednesday
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Following the pattern of pan-green camp integration in Taipei, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) New Taipei City mayoral hopeful Yu Shyi-kun (游錫?) and Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) hopeful Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) engaged in a televised debate yesterday ahead of a public opinion poll on Thursday to determine the final pan-green camp candidate in the November election.
The contenders talked about their vision for the nation’s largest constituency, which has a population of 3.96 million, in a televised debate yesterday at Formosa Television in the last push of their campaigns before the poll, where they would each be matched against New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫).
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday officially confirmed its collaborative partnership with independent Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in the Taipei mayoral election, putting in place the final piece of the puzzle as the party gears up for the mayoral race in northern Taiwan’s four major constituencies in November.
The party decided against nominating its own candidate and opted to support Ko in Taipei, where the DPP has failed to win since former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) served as mayor from 1994 to 1998.
PRIVATE HOLDINGS:Lin Chih-chia questioned the New Taipei City mayor’s alleged failure to report a shareholding in a company that his father-in-law owns
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) will run for re-election in the mayoral election in November because he has no other option, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) — who is also the party’s candidate in the election — told a press conference yesterday.
“I would say [the possibility of Chu running for re-election is] 100 percent. It’s my assessment though — you don’t have to believe me, but time will tell,” Lin said, adding that he had full confidence that he could beat Chu by more than 100,000 votes in the election.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday denied assertions by former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) that the party’s collaboration with independent hopeful Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in the Taipei mayoral election was a personal decision by DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), saying it was a “collective decision of the party.”
“The decision not to nominate our own candidate in the election was made by the Central Executive Committee and it was a response to people’s expectations. However, we respect [Lu’s] comment,” DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) said.
PAN-GREEN UNITY:The DPP told Ko it would not nominate its own candidate to run against him, and agreed with the TSU to field a candidate together for New Taipei City
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday made an unofficial commitment to independent Taipei mayoral hopeful Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) that it would not nominate its own candidate in the election and reached an agreement with the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) that only one candidate would represent the pan-green camp in the New Taipei City mayoral election.
DPP Legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), who served as convener of a task force for the DPP’s Taipei mayoral primary, issued a joint statement after a two-hour meeting with Ko that the DPP agreed to cooperate with the independent candidate to end the decade-long governance of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Taipei.