The Cabinet supports a proposal to hold the next legislative and presidential elections simultaneously, spokeswoman Chen Mei-ling (
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (
Echoing Lin's statement, Chen said Taiwan would be better off if it merged certain elections.
"We really have too many elections," she said, but added that it was up to the Central Election Commission (CEC) to determine when the next elections would be held.
Under the law, the election for the next legislature must be set six months before the present legislative term expires on Jan. 31 next year.
"This means that we can wait until July to work out a schedule for the next legislative elections," she said, adding that as the term for the CEC commissioners expires on June 16, it would be the job of the next group of CEC commissioners to choose the date.
Meanwhile, CEC spokesman Teng Tien-you (
While the government and the DPP support the idea of holding the next presidential and legislative elections simultaneously, Teng said, the CEC should also respect other opinions.
"Therefore, it will be left to the next [members of the] Central Election Commission ... to decide whether the two elections will be held on the same day," he said.
The president's term expires on May 20 next year. The presidential election is scheduled for next March.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
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