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).
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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