Independent Chiayi Mayor Chen Li-chen (
Chen's action intensified the political divide between the north and south of the country as the former is dominated by the KMT, whereas the latter is predominantly controlled by the DPP.
The DPP is actively seeking to expand its regional influence ahead of next year's presidential election.
With two mass inductions of the nation's movers and shakers into the party since last July when President Chen Shui-bian (
The mayor said at yesterday's induction ceremony, presided over by DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chiayi City politics has been dominated by the independent Hsu family for two decades, starting from Hsu Shih-hsian (
Chen served as the acting mayor when Chang Po-ya was invited to become a Cabinet member in 2000. She then won the mayoral election due to the support of the Hsu family faction in December 2001.
Chen said she chose to join the party owing to her connections with the Hsu family, which has been aligned with the DPP for the past 20 years.
Although Chang Po-ya has been alienated from the DPP which she blamed for her falied bid to become vice president of the Examination Yuan last summer, Chen said Chang respected her decision.
Chang Chun-hsiung praised Chen's ability as a public servant who had spared no effort to push for Chiayi's development.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
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