Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
"The purpose of all demonstrations is the expression of different opinions, and should not be achieved through violence," he said yesterday when attending a municipal event.
Stressing that Taipei's police department was "fully prepared" to maintain order at the demonstrations, Ma promised police would quash "any non-peaceful acts."
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING,AP
While he declined to confirm whether he would make an appearance at next month's sit-in protest organized by former Democratic Progressive Party chairman Shih Ming-teh (
Ma is scheduled to give a report in Taichung on the party's "Chen resign" efforts in the middle of next month. The report will review the 1,500 signature drives the party has launched around the country as part of its "Safeguarding Taiwan with no corruption" campaign since its Chen recall motion failed in the legislature in late June.
The KMT says the signature campaign will be completed before Sept. 19, when the legislature reopens after its summer recess.
KMT spokesman Huang Yu-chen (
"But we are encouraging party members to join the sit-in as individuals," he said yesterday at the KMT's headquarters.
Ma and many KMT legislators have donated NT$100 to Shih's sit-in fund.
In related news, media reports said yesterday that Taipei police authorities have refused permission for Shih's sit-in to be held around the clock. The reports said that the Taipei Police Office's Chungcheng Division has only given permission for the Sept. 12-15 sit-in to be staged between the hours of 9am and 10pm, after taking into account traffic requirements and social order.
Asked about the reports, Ho De-fen (賀德芬), spokeswoman for Shih's camp, told the Central News Agency that the campaign organizer has not yet been informed of the reasons why permission for a "24-hour" sit-in from Sept. 11 to Sept. 23 in front of the Presidential Office was denied. She said the organizer would appeal the decision.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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