https://www.scmp.com/rss/227923/feed The Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan’s first opposition party, was founded in 1986 to challenge the one-party authoritarian rule of the Kuomintang. The DPP is committed to political change, supporting freedom of speech, press, assembly and association. In the 2000 presidential election, DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian’s victory ended more than half a century of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party has been caught on the horns of a dilemma by the request of imprisoned former president Chen Shui-bian to return to the party he quit after being charged with corruption in 2008. Its predicament was further compounded by Chen's attempted suicide on Sunday, in what has been seen as a move to put pressure on the pro-independence party. A decision to reinstate Chen may prove to be too difficult to make for the pro-independence party, given that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1253598/return-chen-shui-bian-dilemma-opposition-party-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1253598/return-chen-shui-bian-dilemma-opposition-party-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Blame it on a fragile door or an angry female lawmaker's physical strength. A kick from an opposition lawmaker that knocked a panel off the office door of Taiwanese Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu has recently caused a political stir on the island. While Chiu Yi-ying, of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, could face a lawsuit, analysts said her action could best explain why Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou has been able to avoid becoming a lame duck, despite mounting criticism of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226260/dpps-chiu-yi-yings-kick-justice-ministers-door-causes-political-stir?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1226260/dpps-chiu-yi-yings-kick-justice-ministers-door-causes-political-stir?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Updated at 11.30am; Thursday, February 21 Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh Chang-Ting is probably the first heavyweight from the Democratic Progressive Party with his own fan club on the Chinese mainland. He follows in the footsteps of China’s new party secretary Xi Jinping and incoming premier Li Keqiang, who have their own weibo fan clubs. On Wednesday night, mainland netizens set up a fan club on Sina Weibo for Hsieh, showing sympathy and support for the former DPP chairman. The account,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1154535/former-taiwan-premiers-chinese-weibo-account-deleted?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1154535/former-taiwan-premiers-chinese-weibo-account-deleted?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:35:48 +0000 Crew members of the two vessels in the deadly crash off Lamma Island on October 1 could face serious charges, including manslaughter, the chief prosecutor told a commission of inquiry yesterday as he applied to adjourn part of the hearing to next month. Some victims' relatives questioned the necessity for the adjournment, saying they wanted answers as soon as possible to the cause of the collision, which claimed 39 lives in the city's worst sea disaster in 40 years. The commission of inquiry... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1098439/lamma-ferry-crash-crew-may-face-charges-manslaughter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1098439/lamma-ferry-crash-crew-may-face-charges-manslaughter?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Moves by Taiwan's main opposition Democratic Progressive Party to form a "China affairs committee" appear to have backfired. The pro-independence party's central standing committee passed a motion last month to establish the committee to chart a new direction for its ties with the mainland. The idea was the brainchild of DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang, who assumed the party's top post in May and realised that changing its stance on cross-strait relations could help the party - which ruled the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1097629/dpp-chief-su-tseng-changs-effort-bridge-taiwan-strait-falls-flat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1097629/dpp-chief-su-tseng-changs-effort-bridge-taiwan-strait-falls-flat?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The chief prosecutor has dismissed suggestions that there is a pressing need for Hong Kong to have an independent director of public prosecutions (DPP). Kevin Zervos SC said it was "too simplistic" to call for an independent DPP without looking carefully at how the post would function. He said the most important thing was to ensure whoever was responsible for deciding how prosecutions were handled did so with the utmost integrity, honesty and professionalism, while being open and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1075729/calls-independent-director-public-prosecutions-rejected?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1075729/calls-independent-director-public-prosecutions-rejected?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The city may need specific laws to deal with intrusions of people's "intimate privacy" that are separate from common law offences such as outraging public decency, the chief prosecutor says. Privacy violations, such as taking secret photographs of celebrities and snapping images up the skirts of women, came up in considerations for criminal justice reform, one of the most pressing issues on the agenda of the director of public prosecutions, Kevin Zervos SC. "Maybe we need an offence provision... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1075635/dpp-says-upskirt-pics-and-intimate-shots-may-need-be-banned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1075635/dpp-says-upskirt-pics-and-intimate-shots-may-need-be-banned?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 First came the suspension of year-end bonuses for retired public employees, a benefit that opposition politicians argued was unfair when so many Taiwanese are short on cash. Then came cuts to lawmakers' allowances, as well. Now, Ma Ying-jeou is the latest target in Taipei's pay wars, with Democratic Progressive Party legislators pressing the president to give half his monthly NT$470,000 (HK$124,473) salary and NT$3.3 million special monthly allowance to charity. The donation argument stems from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1074843/taiwan-president-ma-ying-jeou-urged-give-charity-over-missed-targets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1074843/taiwan-president-ma-ying-jeou-urged-give-charity-over-missed-targets?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Ever since President Ma Ying-jeou won re-election by defeating Tsai Ing-wen, the Democratic Progressive Party has been agonising over how to mend fences with Beijing so as to have a chance to regain power in Taiwan. Ma won the election because of his cross-strait policy, which has led to improved ties with the mainland. The DPP, meanwhile, was stuck with its pro-independence stance. Su Tseng-chang, who succeeded Tsai as party chairman, made relations with the mainland a new priority, and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1068063/dpp-reaches-out-beijing-while-trying-stay-true-party-faithful?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1068063/dpp-reaches-out-beijing-while-trying-stay-true-party-faithful?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 23 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 All eyes are on whether former Taiwanese premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting will be able to meet senior mainland official Jia Qinglin in Beijing this weekend. Asked whether he would meet Jia, Hsieh said he was not sure if the meeting would take place. "Arrangements are still being made over who I shall meet in Beijing," he said. Such a meeting would reflect a positive mainland attitude to Hsieh's "icebreaking" trip, Taiwanese media and observers said yesterday. Hsieh, also a former chairman of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1054957/frank-hsiehs-party-hoping-he-can-meet-top-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1054957/frank-hsiehs-party-hoping-he-can-meet-top-beijing-official?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 An "icebreaking trip" to the mainland by Taiwanese opposition heavyweight Frank Hsieh Chang-ting, which begins tomorrow, will help his party find a long-term and stable direction for its cross-strait relations policy, analysts in Beijing and Taipei said. "Hsieh is one of the most influential DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] heavyweights because the clique he leads is playing a role in framing the party's cross-strait relations policy," Professor Xu Bodong, director of the Taiwan Institute at... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1052591/dpps-frank-hsieh-icebreaking-trip-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1052591/dpps-frank-hsieh-icebreaking-trip-mainland?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Taiwan's new top official for cross-strait affairs took his oath of office yesterday, but was immediately attacked by the opposition for failing to identify photos of most of Beijing's top politicians. Wang Yu-chi, a trusted confidant of President Ma Ying-jeou who served as his spokesman from 2008 to 2010, was criticised in parliament immediately after being sworn in as chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council. Wang was shown photos of the nine members of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1052593/taiwans-new-mainland-affairs-council-chairman-fails-photo-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1052593/taiwans-new-mainland-affairs-council-chairman-fails-photo-test?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Taiwan's former premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting yesterday announced a planned trip that would make him the most senior politician from the island's Beijing-sceptic opposition party to visit the mainland. The trip, described by local media as an "ice-breaking" visit, came amid debate in the party about whether to change its policy towards the mainland. Hsieh, who was Taiwan's premier from 2005 to 2006 and retains major influence in the Democratic Progressive Party, said he would leave on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1051893/frank-hsieh-taiwans-opposition-dpp-announces-mainland-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1051893/frank-hsieh-taiwans-opposition-dpp-announces-mainland-china-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Former Taiwan premier Frank Hsieh on Monday announced plans to visit the mainland, a trip that would make him the most senior politician from the Beijing-sceptic opposition party to make such a visit. The trip, described by local media as “ice-breaking”, came amid debate in the party about whether to change its Beijing policy. Hsieh, who was premier from 2005 to 2006 and retains major influence in the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), told reporters he would leave on Thursday. “The purpose of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1051591/taiwan-ex-pm-frank-hsieh-plans-ice-breaking-beijing-visit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1051591/taiwan-ex-pm-frank-hsieh-plans-ice-breaking-beijing-visit?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Oct 2012 08:45:36 +0000 A flurry of mainland visits by prominent members of Taiwan's main political opposition group this month reflects what some analysts say is a softening of the pro-independence party's anti-Beijing stance. And it may also signal that Beijing is taking a more practical approach in dealing with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), following the presidential election on the island in January that saw the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen lose a close race to incumbent leader Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1015617/taiwans-main-opposition-dpp-warming-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1015617/taiwans-main-opposition-dpp-warming-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Outgoing Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian came under fire yesterday from a group of young members of the Democratic Progressive Party, who held him responsible for its downfall. Mr Chen 'must take the biggest share of the responsibility', said Tuan Yi-kang, a former DPP legislator. The party was drubbed in legislative elections in January and the recent presidential poll. The former head of the disbanded New Tide faction, a major DPP clique, said that when the DPP was the ruling party, ... https://www.scmp.com/article/632237/chen-blame-dpp-downfall-say-young-members-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/632237/chen-blame-dpp-downfall-say-young-members-party?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:00:00 +0000 The Kuomintang's big win has given the main opposition party a strong boost for its candidate, Ma Ying-jeou, in the more important presidential poll in two months' time. It was a huge setback for President Chen Shui-bian's efforts to entrench a political divide and it will be difficult for his Democratic Progressive Party to regain ground before the March 22 vote. 'The KMT's landslide greatly helps to consolidate the opposition party's support, and it is less likely that the DPP will be... https://www.scmp.com/article/622795/pendulum-wont-be-able-swing-back-dpp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/622795/pendulum-wont-be-able-swing-back-dpp?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Taiwan's cabinet has replaced two opposition election committee chiefs with members of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in what the Kuomintang claims is an attempt to reduce its chances in the upcoming legislative elections. But one of the replacements was forced to resign yesterday - just one day after his appointment as the election committee chief of the central city of Taichung. It was revealed that Hsueh Chiu-fa has been charged with running an illegal gambling operation. Mr Hsueh... https://www.scmp.com/article/621661/dpp-replaces-poll-chiefs-scandal-forces-one-resign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/621661/dpp-replaces-poll-chiefs-scandal-forces-one-resign?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:00:00 +0000 Taiwan's high court has reversed a district court decision in June that annulled the electoral victory of the Kaohsiung mayor - Chen Chu of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Ms Chen was elected mayor in the island's second largest city last December by a razor-thin margin over her Kuomintang opponent, Huang Chun-ying. According to the ruling yesterday, although Ms Chen's camp was suspected of having damaged the reputation of Mr Huang by accusing him of vote-buying, there was no... https://www.scmp.com/article/615965/kmt-cries-foul-court-upholds-dpp-mayors-poll-victory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/615965/kmt-cries-foul-court-upholds-dpp-mayors-poll-victory?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Nov 2007 16:00:00 +0000 DPP unity erodes; Su's loss also seen as setback for Chen Speculation over the unity of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party has started after its presidential primary that featured unprecedented backstabbing among the four hopefuls. And apart from the unity problem, analysts said yesterday the primary result also represented a defeat for President Chen Shui-bian, whose long-time rival - former premier Frank Hsieh Chang-ting - beat his favoured candidate - Premier Su Tseng-chang -... https://www.scmp.com/article/591873/backstabbing-war-eclipses-victory-former-premier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/591873/backstabbing-war-eclipses-victory-former-premier?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 May 2007 16:00:00 +0000