Former Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) legislators Liao Pen-yen (
"They said that we were not following the TSU's spirit and policies, so we needed to go. What kind of reason is that?" Liao said at a press conference at the legislature yesterday morning.
The TSU's Central Executive Committee decided on Monday to expel the pair.
PHOTO: CNA
"They never talked to us and they never told us what we had done wrong or which party rule we broke. It is not fair to kick us out just like that," Liao said.
"They said that I did not follow the TSU's spirit and policies? Excuse me, but I am one of the five founders of the TSU. I have been the acting chairman for more than two months. Who knows the party's spirit and policies better than I?" Huang said.
TSU caucus whip Lo Chih-ming (
"I am sorry to see them go. I wish the party headquarters would give them a chance to appeal," Lo said. "But if not, I hope they find a new team soon."
TSU Legislator Lin Jih-jia (
"They have not participated in any caucus meetings or discussions since September. I think that is the main reason why other people would believe that they do not care about the TSU anymore," Lin said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) downplayed the TSU move, saying that it respected its ally's system.
DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) told a press conference at party headquarters that he was not in a position to comment because he did not know whether the dismissal had anything to do with his party.
"We respect their democratic system and autonomy," he said.
DPP Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that he was "surprised" by the TSU's decision but that it was "impolite" for the DPP to comment on the matter now because the two legislators can still appeal the move.
The pair can appeal to the TSU's Arbitration Committee within 10 days of receiving written notice of the expulsion.
When asked whether the DPP would ask the pair to join the party, Cho said that it had not asked them to join.
The parties have agreed that the DPP will not nominate candidates in the constituencies where the two TSU legislators will stand in January's legislative elections and that the DPP will work to help them win.
Cho said the pair's expulsion would not affect the inter-party negotiations about nominations in other constituencies.
There are many ways for the two parties to cooperate, Cho said, and opinions polls will be the last resort.
DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓), director of the party's Culture and Information Department, said that she was "astonished" at the news.
It is up to the TSU whether they want to nominate people to replace Liao and Huang, she said, but this was not a good time to say whether the DPP would try to recruit them.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS