One of the decisive forces in the legislative election may be the newly-formed Non-Partisan Soli-darity Union (NPSU, 無黨團結聯盟), and yet the party is a motley crew of candidates who have little in common. About the only thing that does unite the candidates is that they don't know much about what the party is doing, and they don't really care.
The candidates seldom meet with the party's leader, and there is no joint campaign or common strategy. All of which poses the question of whether the union is really a party at all.
Next month's legislative elections are ones in which the candidates in the south have avoided highlighting their party orientation, and instead stressed their personal image.
But the newly-formed NPSU, suffering from its novelty and lack of a central ideology, has been especially weak in presenting a comprehensive and coherent impression of the party. Most of its candidates are selling their own personal qualities instead of party affiliation.
The better-known NPSU candidates include Aboriginal Legislator May Chin (
One NPSU candidate, who wished to remain unidentified, said bluntly that he did not have close ties with the party headquarters.
"I do not interact with the party very much, and I have never met the chairwoman Chang Po-ya (
When asked about whether the candidate was familiar with the NPSU's legislators-at-large, the candidate was nonplussed.
"There should be some out there," the candidate said.
Steven Huang (
"But I don't understand what the NPSU is doing either," Huang said, sounding as if he wasn't even an NPSU candidate.
Huang is holding strong in the campaign not because he is an NPSU member, but because he comes from a family with strong political support.
"The party has the chance to compete with the Taiwan Solidarity Union, but I don't understand how the NPSU operates either," he said.
Huang said that he did not know where the NPSU headquarters was, and he only met the chairwoman once or twice.
Huang said he became a NPSU member because of NPSU legislative caucus whip Tsai Hao's (
But Tsai told Huang that if he was elected from the NPSU, he would be much more influential, since the NPSU is likely to become a decisive minority in the legislature.
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator-at-large Lee Ho-shun (
But he has been perplexed about his new party, and hasn't benefited from his membership.
"For the legislative election, the important thing is whether you will support your local constituents, how you present yourself and whether you serve the constituency well," Lee said.
He said that he joined the NPSU because it couldn't hurt.
"It is freer here," Lee said. "I care more about serving my constituency. I don't want to get involved in party and faction conflicts."
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost