The Central Election Commission (CEC) made public the line-up of the 10 referendum debates yesterday, ending weeks of rumor and controversy.
The debates will start on Feb. 29 and run for three consecutive Sundays. There will be four debates on Feb. 29 and March 7, and two on March 14.
UFO Radio chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) said that the line-up was "an act of God."
"We didn't know which Cabinet official we'll be facing in the debates until the CEC made the announcement today," Jaw said.
Kao Cheng-yen (高成炎), acting convener of the Green Party and leader of the Association of the 21st Century Agenda which will take part in two of the referendum debates, said that he was disappointed with the lawmaking body.
"I still cannot figure out why the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] and People First Party [PFP] bailed out of the events, while they're vehemently opposing the election-day referendum," he said.
Another debater worth noting was Ruan Ming (
Ruan was one of the five debaters earlier chosen by Premier Yu Shyi-kun to discuss the referendum's negotiation question last Monday.
Ruan will play the opposing side against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cho Jung-tai (
In the first referendum question about China's missile threat, Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) will face off with independent Legislator May Chin (高金素梅); Deputy Secretary General to the President Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) will debate against Chan Chao-li (詹朝立), a poet and president of the Speech and Debate Association; Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus whip Lo Chih-ming (羅志明) will speak against Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬), a former DPP Control Yuan member; DPP Legislator Yu Ching (尤清) will face Kao; and DPP Legislator Julien Kuo (郭正亮) will face Jaw.
In the second question about cross-strait negotiations, Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) debate opponent is writer and political commentator Li Ao (李敖); Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (葉俊榮) will debate against former DPP chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良); DPP Legislator Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) comes up against Ding Ting-yu (丁庭宇), a sociology professor and president of the Gallup Market Research Corp, Taiwan; DPP Legislator Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) will oppose Ruan Ming; and Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) will talk against Independent Legislator Sisy Chen (陳文茜).
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle