With last week's resignations of their chairman and secretary-general behind them, Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) officials yesterday said caucus whip Huang Chung-yuan (黃宗源) will serve as acting chairman until a new chairman is selected by rank-and-file members by February.
The TSU's central executive committee yesterday decided that Huang would stand in for former chairman Huang Chu-wen (黃主文), who resigned yesterday.
TSU Legislator Chen Chien-ming (
"I feel as if I have been relieved of a heavy load now that I am no longer TSU chairman," Huang Chu-wen said yesterday. "Whether I'm chairman or not, all the TSU members are my brothers."
Huang added that the TSU would maintain its line on changing the country's official title, making a new constitution and assisting the government in fortifying national identity.
Nominations for party chairman may be lodged from today until Friday.
Central standing committee rules say that eligible candidates include those who have been party members for two years and who have served as ministerial officials, county commissioners, mayors or legislators.
TSU members who are recommended by at least one-third of the central executive committee or one-fifth of party members can also run as candidates.
TSU sources said Su Chin-chiang (
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle