TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP, 民進黨) elected new caucus leaders Friday (Sept. 19) as the island's parliament prepares for its new session. The party selected Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) as chief convener and reappointed Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) as secretary-general. The leadership changes follow pressure on caucus leader Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) after a major recall election setback.
Party chairman Lai Ching-te (賴清德) demanded a day earlier that caucus leaders emerge through internal elections rather than direct appointments. Ker initially wanted to appoint Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and Chen to leadership roles before shifting to Chen and Shen Po-yang (沈伯洋). Lai's intervention forced adherence to the democratic election process within the Central Executive Committee (中執會) meeting.
Party secretary-general Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) attended Friday's caucus meeting to witness the leadership election. Chung and Chen emerged as the only candidates expressing interest in their respective positions. The uncontested nature of their candidacies led to swift confirmation through the internal democratic process demanded by party leadership. ◼
