About 600,000 people are expected to take part in the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) nationwide parades tomorrow, party officials said.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) will both attend the hand-in-hand rally in Taipei County to build up momentum for DPP candidate Luo Wen-chia's (羅文嘉) campaign.
Su and DPP Secretary-General Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) yesterday held a news conference to announce detailed plans for the parades that will be held simultaneously in 19 cities and counties tomorrow afternoon.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
To make sure of retaining the important electoral district of Sanchung (
A human chain will be formed from the Kuantu Bridge (關渡橋) to Showlang Bridge (秀朗橋).
About 100,000 people are expected at the parade in Taipei County, which would make it the biggest campaign activity of the day.
Vice President Annette Lu (
Su urged members of the public to join in the activities and use their votes to give voice to their desire for reform and progress.
Commenting on the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) "anti-corruption parade," which will also be held tomorrow, Su said it was ironic that the KMT would be the party to make the biggest fuss about corruption.
"Not only did the KMT take bribes collectively and systematically when it was the ruling party, each of its nominees has a record tainted by corruption," Su said.
"The KMT's parade is simply a joke. It should examine itself before staging such an activity," he said.
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,
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang