Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday urged the central and local governments to refrain from threatening each other over voting procedures for the upcoming elections and referendums.
Stirring up public anger "cannot resolve the problem," he said, adding that both parties must turn to legislation to resolve the matter.
Hsieh made the remarks in Changhua County in response to the recent controversy over voting procedures for the legislative elections and two referendums in January.
The DPP has proposed a referendum seeking to force the KMT to return its stolen assets to the government. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has proposed holding a referendum on empowering the legislature to investigate the president and other top-level government officials regarding corruption allegations.
Hsieh yesterday said emotional outbursts would only make things worse, no matter who is in power.
He urged pan-blue-governed county and city heads to reconsider the issue, because they would not want to see townships, villages and cities under their supervision challenge their authority.
Meanwhile, Hsieh yesterday criticized the KMT for dwelling on negative aspects of the economy.
"The reason they do that is because they think it will work to their advantage," he said.
Hsieh said that although the former KMT administration encouraged Taiwanese businesses to relocate to China, they had no kind words about Taiwan to attract foreign investment.
"The upcoming elections are a showdown between identification with Taiwan and identification with China," he said. "The economic prosperity I promote is different from the KMT's party-state capitalism."
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS