Ellen Huang (黃越綏), a former presidential candidate hopeful advocating Taiwanese independence, held a press conference yesterday to explain her reasons for dropping out of the race the day before.
Huang said she was unlikely to collect 260,000 signatures, the threshold mandated by the Central Election Commission to register as a presidential candidate. She had collected 101,931 signatures in 105 days of campaigning, Huang said.
The 64-year-old said she would support Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential campaign if Tsai extends an invitation, because she would like to see a female president in Taiwan.
Funding was also a problem for Huang, who is known for her dedication to children’s welfare.
A deposit of NT$1 million (US$34,000) is required for an applicant recommended by way of joint signatures and another NT$15 million is required to register as a presidential candidate, according to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法).
“I might as well buy 20,000 lunchboxes for underprivileged children with the NT$1 million,” she said.
Huang said she “fought alone” during the campaign, accompanied by senior independence advocates Peng Ming-min (彭明敏) and Su Beng (史明), as well as DPP officials Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) and Kao Chien-chih (高建智).
Huang said she was disappointed she was attacked during her campaign, being described by some as taking bribes from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or being a sidekick of former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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