KMT presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday campaigned in Hsinchu County (新竹縣), one of the country's major Hakka regions, to solicit votes from the Hakka community.
While on the stump, Lien pledged that if elected he would work to set up a museum of Hakka culture and a special committee to deal with Hakka affairs. Referring to independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜), but not mentioning him by name, Lien called on the public not to cast votes for "a heartless person, who has showed his lack of faith in his country by remitting all his money overseas and who has turned against the KMT which once nurtured him."
In another jab at Soong, Lien said: "A self-righteous candidate said that I have never promoted Hakka people [in the government, but it's not true]."
Lien said he had elevated numerous Hakka politicians such as former KMT and Presidential Office secretary-general Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) and chairperson of the Council of Sports Affairs Chao Li-Yun (趙麗雲).
Lien was accompanied by several Hakka political figures, including former Council of Agriculture chairman Peng Tso-kwei (彭作奎) and KMT lawmakers Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金) and Chiu Ching-chun (邱鏡淳).
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President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
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EXCEPTIONS: Some people could be allowed to reclaim citizenship for humanitarian reasons or because of their contributions to the nation, the interior ministry said Taiwan would soon unveil new rules banning Taiwanese residents of China from reclaiming their citizenship if they participated in Beijing’s propaganda activities, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. The measures were drafted following President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 directive that the government counter China’s espionage and influence campaigns aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty, the ministry said in a preview of the rules. The changes would affect Taiwanese who lost their citizenship after becoming permanent residents of China or obtaining passports issued by China, it said. Under the measures, former Taiwanese nationals living in China who had made statements denying the
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