An official of the planned Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NSU), a new political party initiated by independent legislators, said yesterday the party will be formally inaugurated next Tuesday as scheduled.
NSU Secretary General Chen Chieh-ju (陳傑儒) made the remarks after a review committee of the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) raised questions about using the term "non-partisan" in the name of the new party.
Chen said that the party has been in the planning for some time, adding that if the MOI has any opinions about the NSU, the party is willing to communicate with the ministry.
The party will apply to and register with the MOI as scheduled, adding that "there is no plan to change the name," he said.
He said that the party has drafted a charter and is scheduled to form a 21-member central standing committee, with current legislators serving as the natural central standing committee members.
As to when Chang Po-ya (張博雅), chairwoman of the new party's preparatory committee, will become the party's chairwoman, he said that the party will not rule out the possibility of calling for an extraordinary central standing committee meeting to nominate her for the post.
Chang, a health minister during the latter part of the era of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rule, mentioned earlier that the establishment of the NSU will effectively offer a middle-way choice for the people of Taiwan, who she said have long been divided into two camps.
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
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
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