Amid public anger over the disqualification of Taiwanese taekwondo athlete Yang Shu-chun (楊淑君) at the Asian Games in China, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said it will voice its support for Yang in tomorrow’s rally in Taipei City, which is aimed at boosting support for Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) re-election bid ahead of the Nov. 27 elections.
The KMT’s announcement yesterday attracted criticism from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), who -accused the KMT of exploiting the incident.
“The KMT has not done much to defend our athletes in the past and it should not make use of them now for their own gains,” Su said.
The KMT has been indecisive about the theme of tomorrow’s march. It had originally planned to hold the event along the lines of a traditional political rally to consolidate pan-blue support for Hau. However, the sizable number of swing voters has prompted the party to play down the political implications and it changed the rally to what is described as “a carnival-like march.”
The party had added anti-corruption and judicial reform as motifs for the event following the Nov. 5 acquittal of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in a corruption case, but later dropped the politically charged theme after Chen was sentenced to 11 yeas in another corruption case.
KMT Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) yesterday dismissed Su’s allegation over the political motive behind the latest theme of its rally and said the DPP should refrain from exploiting the issue.
“The theme of the rally has never changed. All the things that Taipei residents support can be included in the march and we believe that Taipei residents will join us to defend Yang’s rights,” King said when announcing the latest motif of the march at a press conference.
Hau, dressed up as a pilot and standing in front of a model plane, said the incident reaffirmed the city government’s determination to apply for the hosting rights of the next Asian Games to create a fair environment for local athletes.
“Sunday’s march is being organized to make Taipei more open and internationalized and we welcome all residents, whether they are pro-blue or pro-green, to join us and walk for the city’s future,” he said.
Titled “A Walk for Taipei — Taipei Flies High,” the march will begin at Taipei City Hall at 2:30pm tomorrow and end at the East (Jingfu) Gate (景福門) in front of the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard, where a campaign party will be held from 6pm.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
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
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS