The preparatory committee of the tentatively-named Nonpartisan Solidarity Union (NSU) was established yesterday, bringing the country a step closer to seeing the formation of a new political party.
Former interior minister Chang Po-ya (
Chang said the establishment of the NSU will effectively offer a "third" or "middle-way" choice for the people of Taiwan, who have long been divided into only two groups -- either "pro-unification blue" or "pro-independence green."
The new party's 40-odd founders include some well-known politicians such as Chang, former Hsinchu mayor Shih Hsin-chung (
The NSU preparatory committee was to file a list of its founders yesterday with the Ministry of the Interior in the first step toward forming the new party, said Chiu Chuang-liang (邱創良), one of the founders.
Tsai Hao (
Tsai said the NSU is expected to flex its muscles in the year-end legislative elections and is determined to win more than 15 seats. The party will name no more than one candidate in each constituency in the elections, in hopes of winning more than 5 percent of the vote, Tsai said.
He added that all 10 members of the alliance will stand for re-election, which should quell speculation that the Democratic Progressive Party is trying to win over the alliance's support in the legislature by offering its members Cabinet positions or seats in the Control Yuan.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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