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."
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
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