The Alliance of Referendum for Taiwan yesterday marked the 1,000th day of their sit-in outside the legislature, vowing not to give up their fight for Taiwanese independence and to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“We’ve been here for 1,000 days — this is a record in Taiwan’s history. We will continue our struggle to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty,” the alliance’s convener, Tsay Ting-kuei (蔡丁貴), told dozens of people gathered outside the Legislative Yuan in the evening.
Members of the alliance and their supporters launched their sit-in rally in October 2008 after taking part in a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-organized protest against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
At the time, Tsay and his supporters called for revisions to the Referendum Act (公民投票法), which has a threshold for passage that they say is too high.
Later, in response to a demonstration initiated by college students calling for the abolition of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), Tsay and his supporters added the demand to their list.
As the government had not responded positively to their demands, their protest continued.
Healthy Taiwan Society president Kuo Cheng-tian (郭正典), one of the participants of the sit-in, urged the public not to re-elect Ma next year.
“If the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] remains in power, it will have nothing to fear and will place harsher restrictions on civil rights,” he said. “At that time, we may have our own ‘Jasmine Revolution’ in Taiwan.”
Independent presidential candidate Elleen Huang (黃越綏) also showed up at last night’s rally, where she announced that her presidential bid would be her final political activity.
“I know I am not going to get elected, but I still would like people to sign the petition for me to become an official candidate,” Huang said.
“Each signature you sign for me is a slam on China [and sends the message] that Taiwan wants to remain independent. It’s also a reminder to the DPP of the Taiwanese people’s wishes,” she said.
By law, an independent candidate must collect 250,000 signatures to be on the ballot.
As of yesterday, Huang had gathered 25,000 signatures.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS