The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) will dispatch two five-member delegations to the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention in the US later this month and early next month respectively, a senior party official said yesterday.
In a recent meeting, the KMT decided that Deputy Legislative Speaker Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) will lead the delegation to the 2008 Democratic conference to be held in Denver, Colorado, between Aug. 25 and Aug. 28.
Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤), a KMT vice chairman, will head the delegation to the Republican convention in Minneapolis-St Paul, Minnesota, from Sept. 1 through Sept. 4.
The purpose of the US party conventions is to officially nominate the party’s candidate for president and to adopt the party’s platform and rules.
Since Senators Barack Obama and John McCain have already locked up their candidacies for the Democratic and Republican parties respectively, the choices of their running mates will be the focus of the conventions.
A senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said that traditionally, the ministry does not dispatch delegations to the US party conventions, although high-ranking officials of Taiwan’s representative office to the US usually observe them.
KMT legislators Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), Justin Chou (周守訓), John Wu (吳志揚) and Shuai Hua-min (帥化民) are members of the delegation to the Democratic convention, while Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), Alex Tsai (蔡正元), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) will attend the Republican event.
The Democratic Progressive Party will also send delegations to both conventions.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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