The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday began its mobilization preparation for the upcoming anti-nuclear demonstration on Saturday and expressed its support for allowing absentee voting in referendums if it does not include overseas voters.
“The measure should be considered as it would uphold people’s right to exercise their civil rights,” DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in response to a proposal initiated by New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Other DPP politicians— including Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the party’s New Taipei City office, and Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄), director of the Taipei City office — also supported the initiative, with Lo saying that the mechanism could boost voter turnout.
However, Lo added that it would require legislative amendments and resolution of some technical issues, which might not be ready in time for a proposed referendum on the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Absentee voting should also be limited to national referendums and not presidential elections because of the politically complex nature of presidential polls, Lo added.
Lo and Chuang were among the local office directors who attended a meeting with Su yesterday, which discussed the mobilization work for both the anti-nuclear protest to be held on Saturday and the proposed national referendum.
Su called on DPP supporters and members to participate in the Saturday protest, but asked them to keep a low profile by leaving party flags, banners, hats and materials at home, because the protest was a not competition between political parties.
“The protest was initiated by civic groups for the people and it should stay that way,” Su said, adding that the DPP would only play an assisting role in the demonstrations to be held in Taipei, Greater Taichung, Greater Kaohsiung and Taitung, which are expected to draw more than 50,000 participants.
Su also asked the party’s local offices not to mobilize sound trucks for the demonstrations.
Su and former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) both played down calls by some DPP lawmakers for people to view the referendum as a vote of no confidence in President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
“The referendum is about the suspension of the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, rather than the opposition to the president,” Tsai wrote on her Facebook page yesterday.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS