The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for planning to revoke the membership of a retired party staffer who has decided to support Su.
Peng Pin-yi (彭炳義), a former borough chief in Songshan District (松山), who has been a KMT member for more than 40 years, was furious at a handwritten note on an envelope containing an election campaign notification sent by the KMT’s Taipei branch, which described him as being “pro-green.” Incensed, Peng attended a campaign event organized by Su on Thursday night and publicly endorsed the DPP candidate.
“Peng decided to support me because he believes in my capabilities. The KMT, instead of reflecting upon its own mistakes, plans to punish him. That is a double error of judgment by the KMT,” Su said yesterday after visiting Guandu Temple.
Peng lashed out at the KMT for labeling him pro-green and said he decided to support Su despite the party’s threat to revoke his party membership.
KMT Taipei branch director Pan Chia-sen (潘家森) yesterday declined to confirm whether the party would cancel Peng’s membership and accused the DPP of manipulating the issue.
He further challenged the authenticity of the envelope, arguing that the party does not make notes on campaign letters to members. The envelope provided by Peng as evidence had no party member number, which strongly suggests it could be a fake, Pan said.
“We do not label party members because they all have a pro-blue stance ... Mr. Peng should talk to us if he has any problems,” Pan added.
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
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
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
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