Many lawmakers across party lines have taken a leap into the world of Facebook in the hopes their presence on the popular social networking site will increase their chances of being elected in the next legislative elections.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wong Chung-chun (翁重鈞), hailing from a constituency in Chiayi County known for its agricultural industry, has recently launched an activity on his Facebook page asking his fans to click on the “like” button for a chance to win an iPad2.
Acknowledging the Internet gimmick is likely to have little effect on local voters, Wong said he nonetheless had decided to take the suggestion from his youth corps to increase his online visibility.
By posting news on topics relating to Chiayi, he also provided a way for youngsters to gain information on what’s happening in their hometown, Wong added.
KMT Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順), from a constituency in Greater Kaohsiung, is among the few lawmakers to manage their Facebook pages on their own.
“Most of the time I respond to Facebook comments from my cellphone during my commute between northern and southern Taiwan,” she said.
KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) is another lawmaker who handles his own Facebook page.
Aside from updating his status and posting comments on current events, Tsai also uses Foursquare function, sharing his whereabouts with his Facebook friends.
KMT Legislator Ma Wen-jun (馬文君), on the other hand, said her aides are usually the ones who mange her Facebook page.
Acclaiming the use of the social networking site, Ma said it not only allows politicians to respond to the public’s needs more directly, it also helps bridge the distance between them and the general public.
Meanwhile, pan-green politicians, generally perceived as more tech-savvy than their pan-blue counterparts, seem to have taken the function of the social networking site to a whole different level.
Aside from the usual information posts and comments on their Facebook walls, some have used their Facebook pages as resource pools.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Kun-cheng (賴坤成), for one, recently hired three aides through Facebook, saying the three were originally his Facebook friends.
“I thought I’d give them a try [to work as my aides] after having a good interaction with them on my Facebook page,” Lai said.
Lai added that whenever he needs some help with information, as soon as he posts an inquiry on his “wall,” responses come pouring in.
“Sometimes I will post a preview on topics that I am going to address in the legislature and they will respond with questions, many of which are indeed quite constructive,” Lai said, jokingly adding that his Facebook friends are all his “volunteers.”
DPP lawmakers such as Pan Men-an (潘孟安) and Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), who are long-time users of Facebook and other social networking sites, meanwhile, have turned the Web sites into their virtual offices, accepting appeals from netizens beyond their own constituencies.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津), for one, said she doesn’t rely on the Internet to engage in election campaigns because most of the voters from her constituency are farmers.
However, the Internet allows her to better connect with young people, she said.
“The swift relay of information is good for democracy and constitutes a sort of ‘people power,’” said Yeh, who only recently became active on Facebook.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS