To highlight his disappointment with what he called the ongoing political confrontation within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its all-round degeneration, DPP Legislator Lin Wuei-chou (林為洲) yesterday quit the party, urging voters to quit political parties, become neutral and avoid getting caught up in the "partisan squabbles" provoked by politicians.
Lin, who joined the party in 2000, released a three-page statement yesterday announcing his decision to quit.
In the statement, Lin said he was loath to see both the pan-green and pan-blue camps take advantage of people's passions to mobilize them to join large-scale parades and rallies that actually serve no concrete purpose whatsoever.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
`Fed on ecstasy'
"They feed their supporters on ecstasy and mesmerize them with political slogans to attain their political goals. But in the end they are ashamed to admit that they actually cannot help people achieve their expectations," he said.
"Although the three big rallies held in March happened at the same time and in the same location, our political parties and voters seem to have different dreams, speak different languages and live in different worlds," Lin said.
Lin added that people used to say President Chen Shui-bian (
"The whole country is polarized and people who have different political perspectives resent each other," Lin said.
"There are no standards of what is right and wrong. Only political pronouncements are heard," he added.
Lin said that he will not join any other political party.
"I intend to launch a campaign to call on the people of Taiwan to quit political parties and remain neutral. People have to demonstrate their own power and stop politicians and parties from abusing their power," Lin said.
Prior to being elected as a legislator in 2004, Lin served as a city councilor in Hsinchu County Council for eight years.
No longer the largest
Lin's departure means the DPP, with 87 seats, is no longer the largest party in the Legislative Yuan. The KMT is now the largest party with 88 seats.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun yesterday said he hoped that Lin would continue to work with the DPP.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
"The DPP remains devoted to Taiwan's democratic development and it is true that the DPP has slumped to its lowest point," DPP caucus whip Chen Chin-jun (
"But just as people get sick, any political party will face problems. However, I don't think it is a good idea for people to abandon sick family members when they are in their hour of need as the situation will only get worse," he said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS