Candidates for the National Assembly cruised Taiwan's streets yesterday to solicit votes ahead of a poll on constitutional reform.
The election on Saturday will select party-affiliated deputies to the National Assembly that will vote on proposed constitutional changes aimed at halving the number of seats in the legislature and replacing an unwieldy proportional representation system.
The assembly will also vote on whether the nation can hold referendums to approve future constitutional changes -- a controversial issue because China fears Taiwan could use such plebiscites to change the nation's political status and declare formal independence.
However, Taiwan's two largest political parties support the proposed constitutional changes, which will likely be approved, regardless of which party triumphs in Saturday's election.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has said his party will only use referendums to approve constitutional amendments to streamline the political system, and will not seek to change the nation's status.
Saturday's vote follows last week's historic visits to China by KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) -- including a groundbreaking meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) -- and James Soong (宋楚瑜), chairman of the People First Party, which also supports unification.
Under the proposed reforms to streamline the legislature, a first-past-the-post voting system would be introduced in 2008, under which only two candidates per constituency would be elected -- one by popular vote and the other by party affiliation.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
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