Despite the National Assembly's resolve to push for the suspension of the next Assembly elections, the main political parties yesterday continued to nominate candidates so that they are prepared in case the election goes ahead anyway.
The DPP, in fact, completed its nominations, while the People First Party (PFP) made further progress towards that end.
The nominations are being put forward as a precaution in the event that the Assembly does not succeed in the goal mandated by the major party caucuses -- namely, marginalizing the Assembly and cancelling all future elections.
That goal was agreed to following a decision in March by the Grand Council of Justices that invalidated two controversial constitutional amendments made by the Assembly last year, one of which extended its own term by more than two years.
The Council's decision in turn mandated the Central Election Commission to order an election for May 6.
In the DPP's nomination process, incumbents were given priority during a six-hour meeting of the party's Central Executive Committee (CEC) yesterday.
"Nearly 99 percent of incumbents who registered for candidacy were nominated," said DPP secretary-general Yu Shyi-kun. "The nomination is not for winning the election, but for the constitutional reform of abolishing the National Assembly," he said. "Therefore the abolishment of the National Assembly and the ceasing of deputies' functions will be the major platform of our candidates."
The CEC made a number of additional resolutions yesterday to ensure the achievement of those stated purposes.
The resolutions state that the party's candidates should advocate the abolishment of the National Assembly, and if elected should struggle for such a goal. In addition, incumbent deputies should be present at the currently proceeding National Assembly session, and vote according to the decision of the party caucus. If this does not happen, the resolution stated, their nomination will be revoked.
"Those who violate these resolutions should be considered expelled from the party," Yu quoted the CEC resolution as saying.
The DPP has nominated 107 constituency candidates. At the top of the list of 61 at-large candidates -- whose election is to be based on a party proportional representation system -- is former party chairman Yao Chia-wen (
During a PFP meeting yesterday, nominations were finalized for constituencies in six cities and counties, for a total of 14 candidates.
Yesterday's meeting was only the first stage of nomination and will be followed by more meetings, said party spokesman Chin Ching-sheng (
Local media reported yesterday that Hsu Kuo-tai (
"At the meeting we did not discuss the cases of related constituencies. We do not know about Hsu," he said.
"Wang's wife has enrolled for candidacy, but the case is not yet examined," Chin said.
The National Assembly passed a resolution on Saturday asking the Central Election Committee to put off the impending National Assembly election, which is currently scheduled to take place on May 6.
The resolution requested that the election be put off until the fate of the Assembly is made clearer by decisions to be made at the ongoing session.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique