A dispute emerged yesterday over a Central Election Commission decision that the New Party's candidate for Taipei County commissioner, Wang Chien-shien, can only represent one party in the election.
Candidates from the KMT, the New Party and the People First Party (PFP) held a joint press conference yesterday to argue that through the decision, the DPP seeks to obstruct the integration of the three parties. They also said they would petition the Council of Grand Justices for a constitutional interpretation on the issue.
The four candidates, three of which are incumbents, included KMT candidates Ting Shou-chung (
The PFP's Wang says his party and the KMT jointly nominated him for the commissioner's post. His office yesterday said that they haven't decided how to react to the decision, but would decide after discussing the case with their attorneys. Wang's case is a first in Taiwan's electoral history.
Under the Public Officials Election and Recall Law, political parties may nominate candidates for each open public office, but the rules say political parties can only nominate their own members. The commission rejected Wang's request to represent the three opposition parties, but offered to formally hear his objections on Nov. 6.
Chou Yang-san (周陽山), who represented the New Party at the election commission's meeting, emphasized that there were examples of different parties jointly nominating candidates in the US and France and argued that the commission's rule flies in the face of the legislation's underlying intent.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under