Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Chairman Shu Chin-chiang (
At a training seminar held for its assembly delegates, Shu gave a lecture on "the TSU's strategies in the National Assembly," and called on the party's 21 delegates to stick to the TSU's stance on the constitutional reforms during the assembly's session, which opens on Monday.
"Writing a new constitution and correcting the country's name is the key strategy and goal for Taiwan's transformation into a country with normal systems," Shu said.
"If we can't achieve these two aims, Taiwan's independence will only be empty talk."
"TSU delegates have to explain the outcome for Taiwan if the constitutional amendments are passed," Shu said.
Shu added that the delegates will receive attendance fees but that the party will donate these to public welfare groups.
The TSU later set up its assembly caucus in the afternoon. The party, which has the third-largest number of delegates in the assembly, will recommend Annie Lee (
Chien Lin Hui-chien (
Liu Yi-teh (劉一德), director of the TSU's organization department, who was also a lecturer at yesterday's seminar, instructed the party's delegates to make protests and create a ruckus during their allotted speech times to accentuate the infeasibility of the constitutional amendments.
TSU Secretary-General Chen Chien-ming (
"The TSU opposes passing these constitutional amendments, which will essentially deprive people of the right to revise the Constitution, given the incredibly high ratification threshold," Chen said during the seminar.
"We think that only by highlighting the absurdity of these constitutional amendments and the significance of writing a new constitution can Taiwan become a country with normal systems and the status of a nation."
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said