Costumed and shouting slogans, legislative hopefuls came out in force yesterday, the first day of five that they can register as candidates in their voting districts for the year-end legislative elections.
Registration for the sixth legislative elections scheduled for Dec. 11 are being accepted at local-level election committees until Tuesday.
PHOTO: CNA
The lists of nominees for at-large legislative seats and seats representing overseas Chinese are being submitted directly to the Central Election Commission (CEC) by political parties, in accordance with the commission's regulations.
The campaigns began with a bang as many would-be contenders showed up to register in costume, while the New Party's hopefuls formally registered with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
In Taipei City, a five-member Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) team tried to piggyback on the recent Olympic hoopla by wearing fake gold medals.
Calling themselves "gold-medal warriors," the team, including legislators Shen Fu-hsiung (沈富雄), Kuo Cheng-liang (郭正亮), Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) and Lan Mei-chin (藍美津) -- along with Taipei City Councilor Wang Shih-chien (王世堅) -- said they were all confident of victory.
Not to be outdone, People First Party (PFP) candidates Lee Ching-an (
KMT candidate Justine Chou (
Aboriginal DPP candidate Chen Ying (
Meanwhile, lead by New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (
The seven are: Taipei City Councilor Alex Fei (
After the seven signed the KMT forms, they, along with Yok and New Party Legislator Wu Cheng-tien (
Lien told the delegation "welcome home."
"We have waited to get these [KMT] legislative recommendations for 12 years [since the New Party was formed by KMT defectors]," Lee Sheng-feng said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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