Hundreds of people marched through Taipei yesterday, calling for the KMT to return assets it allegedly stole during its decades-long rule over Taiwan.
Waving flags and wearing headbands, protesters kicked large inflated balls around as they marched. "Give the assets back to the people," was written on the blue balls, which matched the KMT's party colors.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
The demonstration, organized by the "Decreasing the Legislative Seats to Half Action Union" (
Many protesters carried flags for legislative candidates and more than 30 campaign trucks joined the rally. The marchers also called for the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan to be reduced.
The number of seats should be cut in half and the KMT should return the illegal assets it accumulated from Taiwanese people since 1945, said Stephen Lee (
"Our main essence for the protest is very clear," said Lee.
"First of all, we ask for public support to decrease the number of legislative seats to half of the current figure. Second, the KMT accumulated many illegal assets during its rule over Taiwan through `black gold' politics. They should return that money to the government to help the people of Taiwan survive the economic slowdown," he said.
The number of legislators is set at 225 but currently there are just 219, since some lawmakers are assigned to government posts.
Lee said the excessive number legislators only creates problems for the country.
"Taiwan is a small island, but we have 225 legislative seats which could be a world record," he said. "Unfortunately, not all of the lawmakers work hard for the people. Most of the time, they argue with one another or fight, instead of doing something for the voters. The more they show up on TV or in the newspapers, the more chance they have to gain attention. This is only for their private interests."
Alice King (金美齡), Taiwan's Tokyo-based national policy advisor, also attended the rally and signed a proposal calling for a reduction in the number of legislators.
"I agreed with the proposal," said King. "Other than cutting the number of legislative seats to half of the current figure, we do need to have `real' lawmakers, so we will not waste our taxes on paying unnecessary salaries."
The KMT is one of the world's richest parties, with holdings estimated to reach over US$2 billion. However, the KMT says it obtained all its property legally and that the party could lawfully use the profits generated on election campaigns.
Leaders of the DPP and Taiwan Solidarity Union have signed the proposal to cut the number of lawmakers. There has been no response yet from the KMT, the People First Party or the New Party.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)