TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Hong Heng-chu (洪恆珠), the wife of Legislative Speaker Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), announced that she is leaving the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Sunday (Oct. 27) during a speech to mark the opening of the headquarters for her election campaign.
A prominent DPP politician, Su was President Tsai Ing-wen’s running mate in her failed campaign in 2012 to become Taiwan’s first female president. However, Su was absent from Sunday's event to celebrate the opening of his wife’s campaign headquarters, the report said.
Hong, after leaving the DPP, will be running as an independent candidate for a seat representing a legislative district in Pingtung County, ETtoday reported. She said during the speech that she leaves the DPP, which had her support for a long time, with a heavy heart and that, given the pressure from the party and questions from detractors, her campaign would be a tough battle to fight.
She went on to say that democracy is precious because in a democratic society everyone has the right to participate in politics, adding that legislators should not focus on toeing the party line, according to the report. Instead, they should listen to different voices and learn what the people really need in order to make the best laws, she added.
Hong further said that the pension reform has raised the ire of public servants and that the policy should be further discussed so that a better solution can be reached. She also pointed out that in northern Pingtung there is not enough convenient public transportation infrastructure, like railways or a mass rapid transit system nor are there enough children’s hospitals, said Hong. She would like to see these things addressed to help boost the local economy and to provide better well-being for the people, reports ET.
