Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (
Lien, the presidential candidate of the opposition "pan-blue alliance," said if he is elected, he will see to it that Kaohsiung residents cast their referendum votes for the opening of direct air and shipping links between Kaohsiung and China as part of the effort to rejuvenate the port city and help generate job opportunities.
Lien made the promise during a ceremony marking the establishment of a campaign support group of residents living in the Tsoying-Nantsu district.
He derided President Chen Shui-bian's (
In addition, Lien's party yesterday proposed a bill to cut legislative seats by about half -- part of a plan to revamp the political system and make it more efficient.
The KMT proposed that legislative seats be cut from the current 223 seats to 113 seats by 2007, with at least 35 seats being held by women.
KMT Legislator Lee Chia-chin (
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has also called for a smaller legislature. But the DPP wanted to make the change in a new constitution that would have been approved by a nationwide referendum.
But the DPP's referendum proposal was rejected by the opposition coalition, which includes the KMT and the People First Party (PFP).
Under a referendum law passed last week, a vote could only be called to endorse constitutional changes first approved by the legislature.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
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