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.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung and Taoyuan would issue a decision at 8pm on whether to cancel work and school tomorrow due to forecasted heavy rain, Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) said today. Hsieh told reporters that absent some pressing reason, the four northern cities would announce the decision jointly at 8pm. Keelung is expected to receive between 300mm and 490mm of rain in the period from 2pm today through 2pm tomorrow, Central Weather Administration data showed. Keelung City Government regulations stipulate that school and work can be canceled if rain totals in mountainous or low-elevation areas are forecast to exceed 350mm in
EVA Airways president Sun Chia-ming (孫嘉明) and other senior executives yesterday bowed in apology over the death of a flight attendant, saying the company has begun improving its health-reporting, review and work coordination mechanisms. “We promise to handle this matter with the utmost responsibility to ensure safer and healthier working conditions for all EVA Air employees,” Sun said. The flight attendant, a woman surnamed Sun (孫), died on Friday last week of undisclosed causes shortly after returning from a work assignment in Milan, Italy, the airline said. Chinese-language media reported that the woman fell ill working on a Taipei-to-Milan flight on Sept. 22
COUNTERMEASURE: Taiwan was to implement controls for 47 tech products bound for South Africa after the latter downgraded and renamed Taipei’s ‘de facto’ offices The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still reviewing a new agreement proposed by the South African government last month to regulate the status of reciprocal representative offices, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. Asked about the latest developments in a year-long controversy over Taiwan’s de facto representative office in South Africa, Lin during a legislative session said that the ministry was consulting with legal experts on the proposed new agreement. While the new proposal offers Taiwan greater flexibility, the ministry does not find it acceptable, Lin said without elaborating. The ministry is still open to resuming retaliatory measures against South
The Central Emergency Operations Center (CEOC) has made a three-phased compulsory evacuation plan for Hualien County’s Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) disaster zone ahead of the potential formation of a typhoon. The plan includes mandatory vertical evacuation using air-raid-style alarms if needed, CEOC chief coordinator Chi Lien-cheng (季連成) told a news conference in the county yesterday. Volunteers would be prohibited from entering the disaster area starting tomorrow, the retired general said. The first phase would be relocating vulnerable residents, including elderly people, disabled people, pregnant women and dialysis patients, in shelters and hospitals, he said. The second phase would be mandatory evacuation of residents living in
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