As tomorrow is the deadline for independent presidential candidates to hand over the required 224,000 signatures for the March election, independent presidential candidate Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良) yesterday handed over the first batch of signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC中選會).
Chu Hui-liang (
"Hsu has already collected more than 300,000 signatures," Chu said today they will hand over another 100,000 signatures and give out the rest of the signatures on the last day. Chu called for more signatures so as to avoid overlapping or duplicating signatures with other candidates.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES.
According to election regulations, overlapping signatures are nullified for both sides. If too many signatures overlap it could result in a politician losing his or her candidacy.
The Taiwan Independence Party's candidate Cheng Pang-cheng (
An official of the party said the Cheng-Huang ticket has suffered insufficient resources partly because they were the latest to join the election campaign.
The official said pressure from pro-independence party elders, who have called on support for DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (
While the Cheng camp is worried about insufficient support, an aide to independent presidential candidate James Soong (
The official said they are worried that the exposure of all their signatures may bring trouble to some of their supporters, although they didn't provide any details as to why this was so. The Soong camp yesterday called a meeting to decide how many signatures they should hand over.
In related news, although signature drives are not required for presidential candidates nominated by major parties, the KMT is undertaking a signature drive for its candidate Lien Chan (
"This is a test of mobilization," said KMT spokesman Huang Hwei-chen (
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
‘UNFRIENDLY’: Changing the nationality listing of Taiwanese residents to ‘China’ goes against EU foreign policy as well as democratic and human rights principles, MOFA said Taiwan yesterday called on Denmark to correct its designation of the nationality of Taiwanese residents as “China” or face retaliatory measures. The Danish government in 2024 changed the nationality of Taiwanese citizens on their residence permits from “Taiwan” to “China.” The decision goes against EU foreign policy and contravenes democratic and human rights principles, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said. Denmark should present a solution acceptable to Taiwan as soon as possible and correct the erroneous designation to preserve the longstanding friendship between the two nations, Hsiao said. The issue could damage Denmark’s image and business reputation in Taiwan,
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
RSS