Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators said yesterday their party membership had been suspended because they failed to raise enough money for the party.
Yu Tian (余天) and Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬), two DPP legislators from Taipei County, appeared not to have voted in the primary to choose the candidates for the party’s Taipei County councilor yesterday. Their offices said they had been suspended over fundraising matters.
DPP Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said she had been suspended for not raising enough money.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told reporters the party had asked its legislators to raise NT$500,000 annually for the party and that they would be suspended if they failed to collect the required amount.
“As far as I know, half of the DPP legislators have had difficulty gathering that amount and feel embarrassed,” Ker said.
He said that fundraising had become more difficult because the party’s political influence dwindled after it lost the presidential and legislative elections last year, adding that the economic downturn had dealt a significant blow to corporate donations.
“We all know the party needs money to operate and we will continue to work on that,” Ker said.
Chairperson Tsai Ing-Wen (蔡英文) requires NT$10 million (US$296,000) annually for the party, Ker said.
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
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,
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
RSS