Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Shen Fu-hsiung (
It has been rumored that Shen will run as a candidate of the Third Social Party, a new party formed by former DPP "Young Turk" Chou Yi-cheng (
Shen said he had devoted a lot of time and effort to helping Chou establish the party, but that didn't mean that he would be a legislator-at-large candidate for the party.
"The contribution that a lawmaker of a small party, which holds only one or two legislative seats, can make to the country is trivial," Shen said.
But Shen said he would continue to help the Third Social Party in the future to convey his vision of cross-strait relations, public policies and blind spots in the two-party duopoly by exchanging his ideas with young students.
Shen said his decision to quit the DPP was not timed to coincide with the decision by the party's Central Standing Committee to recommend President Chen Shui-bian (
Shen was accused of picking the timing to humiliate the DPP when the party was trying to create an image of unity following the row over its "normal country" resolution.
"It was just a coincidence," Shen said.
Shen said he happened to meet Lee Cheng-yee (
Former DPP legislator Lin Wei-chou (
Lin quit the DPP in March last year expressing his "disappointment" over the party's indifference to "issues that deserve genuine attention."
Lin yesterday said that he had joined the Third Social Party because he hoped the country would have a third choice in addition to the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
He also said he has lost his passion for politics.
Meanwhile, Chou said yesterday that he planned to inaugurate the party in the middle of this month and announce its nominations for legislators and legislators-at-large.
Chou, who said yesterday that he was kicked out of the DPP a few weeks ago, said that he felt morally obligated to stand in the legislative elections, but he would be the last person to join the race.
When asked about the possibility of Shen running as the party's flag bearer in the legislative polls, Chou said that it was possible but not finalized.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
RSS