Two smaller political parties said yesterday that they either opposed or held reservations about having presidential and legislative elections on the same day, as suggested by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Yu Shyi-kun.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) and People First Party (PFP) were responding to Yu's suggestion of combining the legislative elections scheduled for the end of 2007 and the presidential election in March 2008 as a means of strengthening social harmony and saving money.
Yu said that many groups have told him that there are too many elections in Taiwan, which have caused rifts in the fabric of society. Combining presidential and legislative elections -- the two most prominent elections in the country -- would be a socially harmonious and cost-efficient move.
Liao Pen-yen (
Liao said that as a minor party, it will be unable to field its presidential candidate, and that two-in-one elections would be favorable to large political parties in building up momentum, while further squeezing the maneuvering space of the smaller parties.
He said if the DPP is set to promote the two-in-one elections, the TSU will advocate cross-party coordination to decide whether it is feasible.
PFP Legislator and party spokesman Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said that although the two-in-one elections will reduce social disruption, the move is definitely not favorable to the smaller parties, leading to their marginalization.
He said if the DPP formally suggest holding the two elections, then the PFP will convene a meeting to discuss on how to deal with the changes.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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