The Central Election Commission (CEC) said that they would hold a provisional meeting tomorrow to discuss the issue of misplaced presidential ballots.
According to a Chinese-language news report, due to opposition from the pan-blue camp as well as government officials, commission chairman Huang Shih-Cheng (黃石城) said last night that a provisional commission meeting would be held on Monday.
A decision by the CEC on Thursday night that misplaced votes would be considered valid had resulted in conflicts.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus leader Tsai Huang-liang (
"Therefore, in order to allow the referendum to operate smoothly, he hoped the CEC would hold another meeting and reconsider its decision on the issue of misplaced ballots," Tsai said.
On Friday night, Premier Yu Shyi-kun, National Security Bureau Deputy Director Wang Chin-wang (王進旺), National Police Administration Director General Chang Si-liang (張四良), director-general of the Government Information Office Huang Hui-chen (黃輝珍), stated their concerns for the result of CEC's decision at a Cabinet meeting.
As the final outcome of the presidential election will be delayed for two or three hours due to the decision that misplaced presidential ballots are still valid, the officials expressed concerns over possible riots on the day of election.
In response to concerns from government officials, Yu stated that he respected the CEC as an independent administrative office and the decisions it makes.
As it is the first national referendum ever held in Taiwan, the DPP and the CEC are concerned about the smooth operations of ballot calculations for the election and the referendum.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are