The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) will compete in elections for city mayors and county commissioners at the end of the year, former president Lee Teng-hui (
Eight outgoing and incoming TSU lawmakers visited Lee at noon at his residence in the Tsui Villa complex in Taipei yesterday, where they discussed party affairs for nearly two hours.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FENG, TAIPEI TIMES
"We will certainly not miss out on the elections for mayor and county commissioner this year," TSU acting chairman Huang Tsung-yuan (黃宗源) said after the meeting.
Huang also floated a few potential candidates, including Legislator Chien Lin Hui-chien (錢林慧君) from Tainan City, and Legislator Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) from Taipei County, both of whom failed in their re-election bids last month.
Huang said the TSU would negotiate with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) before the registration process began so that there would be no pan-green camp infighting.
"Off his own bat, President Lee also said, `how about I become the TSU's counselor,'" Huang said.
Huang said that Lee was eager to become more involved in TSU affairs and agreed to meet top officials at least once every one or two months if asked.
Huang added that Lee was hoping for more comprehensive party development and engagement with the community.
He said the TSU should work more closely with civic groups and think tanks such as Taiwan Advocates and the Lee Teng-hui School to improve its regional connections.
According to Huang, Lee recommended that Su Chin-chiang (
Chen, who also serves as TSU secretary-general, said that the new chairman would be approved by the central executive committee on Monday.
The lawmakers said that Lee had restated his support for the idea of party-to-party negotiations with the pan-blue camp, as proposed by President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in an attempt to create space for negotiation and reconciliation in a hostile political climate.
Lee had also approved of the notion of a coalition Cabinet, the lawmakers said.
When asked if this meant that the TSU would support the president nominating People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Chen Chien-ming said that Lee had expressed concerns that charges for national health insurance, water and electricity should not be raised until after the government had attempted to cut spending.
"According to the principles of late president Chiang Ching-kuo (
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS