In order to prepare for National Double Ten Day celebrations, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
The boulevard is expected to be occupied with protesters taking part in an anti-President-Chen-Shui-bian (
"It has nothing to do with blue or green [camps]. Because we need to start working on the celebration ceremony, construction would be delayed if the protesters are still there," said Wang, who is head of the ceremony preparation team.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
Lee Shu-chuan (
Lee said the department had granted the Shih camp's permission to use the boulevard until Sept. 27, while the police gave it parade permission until Sept. 20.
However, Lin said officials agreed yesterday to expand the demonstration area from the Ketagalan Boulevard to Renai Road and Xinyi Road on Saturday and Sunday, as the protest organizers plan to form a compass image -- inspired by the Nazca Lines in Peru -- in the area.
Lee said the organizers applied for the extension yesterday and it was granted, but only for the weekend.
"We also consulted with the police and traffic departments, and they will map out traffic rules during the weekend," he said.
Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairman Shih Ming-teh (
"We don't have to be so nervous about the distant future," he said.
Shih noted that as others have obtained permission to use Ketagalan Boulevard on Sept. 16, he may lead his supporters on a "candlelight march through Taipei" the night of Sept. 15. He refused to say, however, where the candlelight march would go.
Meanwhile, Ma dismissed media allegations that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would be a "loyal opposition party" from now on and that he would not try to topple the Cabinet. The KMT chairman said he never made such remarks.
According to a China Times story yesterday, Ma was planning to announce on Saturday that the KMT would be a "loyal opposition party" until 2008 by refraining from trying to topple the Cabinet or seek to form a new Cabinet.
Ma would also not try to oust Chen or the Cabinet through street demonstrations because such protests are "outside of governmental system," the paper said.
"The KMT has never ruled out the possibility of toppling the Cabinet ? I don't know where such information comes from," Ma said.
He said the China Times had not sought confirmation of its story from him.
As the right to assembly and parade is protected by law, Ma said street demonstrations could not be seen an "outside the government" measures.
He also said he would not exclude any possibility in ousting the president.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration is seeking to join an Indo-Pacific economic framework being planned by the US, a senior official said. The government is paying close attention to the regional economic pact being touted by US President Joe Biden, although too few details have emerged from Washington for Taipei to make specific plans, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The US is expected to launch the Indo-Pacific economic framework next month after negotiations with Australia, India and Japan, the official said. The economic initiative is to tackle trade facilitation, standards for the digital economy and technology, supply-chain resiliency and
PIVOTAL ROLE: Taiwan’s importance in the global chip supply chain can be bolstered by domestic equipment manufacturing, President Tsai Ing-wen said Efforts must be made to better secure Taiwan’s place in the global supply chain by localizing production of equipment and facilities used by the semiconductor industry, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday. Tsai discussed the issue during a meeting with representatives from the Taiwan Electronic Equipment Industry Association at the Presidential Office in Taipei. Product shortages throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly of automotive chips — highlighted the pivotal role of Taiwan in the global supply chain, she said. Tsai thanked the association for cooperating with the government on the shared goal of localizing production of important semiconductor industry equipment.
SEPARATE CASE? A woman tested positive when she went with her daughter to be tested, because her daughter had taken the same bus to school as a steakhouse worker The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 10 local COVID-19 cases, six of whom had visited a steakhouse in Taoyuan where an infection cluster has been reported. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, said that of the 10 local infections, one case — No. 17,928 — is a Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport disease prevention staffer who works in the area where inbound travelers collect their saliva for a COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, and sometimes at the fever screening station. The staffer had tested negative in a PCR test on Jan. 9 and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is to use non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a bid to revitalize the party’s archives, KMT officials said yesterday at a news conference in Taipei that showcased a ceremonial sword belonging to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), the first piece of the collection to be utilized in the project. NFTs are a blockchain technology used for digital files that provide proof of ownership or a certificate of authenticity. KMT Culture and Communications Committee deputy director-general Lin Chia-hsing (林家興), who is also the curator of the archives, said that digitizing the collection is part of the party’s efforts to revamp its
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