Kaohsiung County Commissioner Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) on Friday accused “certain political figures” of being anti-business, saying that he would take it upon himself to solicit businesses to invest in the south.
Yang was apparently referring to his Yunlin counterpart Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who he suggested had “set a bad example” by leading protests against the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) and asking for a huge amount of compensation in the wake of two fires at its petrochemical complex in Mailiao Township (麥寮), Yunlin County, last month.
“Political figures and parties cannot act so strongly against businesses or they will drive them away,” said Yang, who earlier this month withdrew from the DPP and declared an independent bid for the Greater Kaohsiung mayoral post.
Yang said a local government head should play the role of “coordinator,” adding that when several industrial incidents took place in his county, he dealt with them all the while keeping “industrial safety, environmental protection, business survival and public interests” in mind.
He urged the public not to turn against businesses when attaching importance to environmental protection.
He said Kaohsiung’s economic growth has been slow over the past decade and that if it could develop its economy, many Kaohsiung residents wouldn’t have to leave their hometown to make a living.
He lauded Hon Hai Group, saying that a fund under the group opened an organic farm to help flood victims in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in August last year.
He expressed hope that Hon Hai would set up operations and cloud computing centers in Kaohsiung and said he would continue to solicit Hon Hai’s investment in Greater Kaohsiung.
The DPP said it could not agree with Yang’s remarks and dismissed them as a “campaign gambit.”
“If the same incidents took place at FPG’s plant in Renwu Township (仁武), Kaohsiung County, Yang would not have made such a remark,” DPP spokesman Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) said.
Lin said that for Yunlin residents, the two fires last month are a big issue and that the fears among them “can’t be easily understood by outsiders.”
Su said that residents of Yunlin and Kaohsiung counties have “different values and demands” of their leaders, adding that if Kaohsiung County residents asked Yang to do certain things, Yang would also have to comply.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
RSS