The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) intends to honor its promise of allowing two lawmakers to share one seat in the Legislative Yuan and will officially announce the swap at the end of the month, the party said.
The party adopted the system of allowing two people to share one legislative seat after the slogan “One vote per family to help the TSU” helped the party garner 8.9 percent of the vote in the 2012 combined elections, TSU Secretary-General Lin Chih-chia (林志嘉) said.
With only two years allotted to each legislator, the party would be able send six members to the legislature, Lin said, adding that as a small party the TSU has limited resources and the system would allow the party to utilize those resources most efficiently.
Lin stepped down as a lawmaker and was replaced by former Greater Kaohsiung councilor Yeh Chin-ling (葉津鈴) in August last year.
The TSU’s two other legislators, Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) and Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲), will finish their two-year terms at the end of the month, Lin said.
Their seats will go to National Taipei College of Business dean Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) and the party’s organization department deputy director Chou Ni-an (周倪安), Lin said, adding that Hsu and Huang would be assuming the position of heads of the TSU Policy Research Committee and the Judiciary Reform Committee respectively.
Lin added that it was possible that both would run in this year’s elections.
Citing its resistance to allowing US beef containing traces of ractopamine to enter the market and its disapproval of the hikes in fuel and electricity prices, Lin said the TSU had accomplished a lot in the past two years, despite its minority presence in the legislature.
Lin added that by supporting the impeachment of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and opposing the completion of construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), and the proposed cross-strait service trade agreement, the TSU had garnered quite a bit of public support.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS