The campaign headquarters of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman hopeful, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
With only one week remaining until the election, the Wang camp yesterday announced its plans to hold a rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on the night of July 15 for all of Wang's supporters as well as participants in last year's pan-blue mass protests against the results of the presidential election.
Procedures
The Wang camp has already followed the necessary procedures to request the use of Ketagalan Boulevard for the rally, Wang's campaign headquarters spokesman Hou Han-chun (
"The main purpose of the rally is to gather all those that are concerned about the KMT chairmanship election, the future of the pan-blue camp, and those that support Wang. We also want to let the participants in last year's March 27 protests gather together again," Hou said.
Indirectly challenging Ma, Hou said yesterday that while the Wang camp will respect the city government's decision, he does not think there should be any reason why the rally should not be permitted, given the significance of Ketagalan Boulevard for pan-blue supporters.
Hundreds of thousands of disappointed pan-blue supporters flooded the streets in front of the Presidential Office last year in the days following the March 20 presidential election to protest the ballot's results.
In what has become a point of contention that the Wang camp has utilized in its campaigning, Ma has been criticized for not taking a more active role in the protests last year.
The prospects for the proposed rally seemed dim yesterday, with Ma saying that the city government had not received the necessary forms in time for the rally to be held.
Late submission
According to the timetable for holding an assembly or rally, the city government said yesterday that an application for an assembly must be submitted at least 10 days before the event's proposed date.
Given that the Wang camp had only sent in its application forms on July 8 for the July 15 rally, it is unlikely that the rally will be allowed.
"The right to assembly is a right protected in the Constitution. All [applications] that are in accordance with the rules will be approved. [I] am definitely not causing difficulties [for Wang]," Ma said yesterday.
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
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
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
RSS