Amid a backdrop of a recent string of disasters and food scandals, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday marked its 28th anniversary with nationwide picnics instead of its usual large-scale celebrations, in a move meant to symbolize that the party is on the side of the general public, not the privileged few.
In light of July’s plane crash in Penghu, which killed 48 people, a series gas pipeline blasts in Greater Kaohsiung that killed 30, a tainted oil scare and other events, the DPP decided that it would celebrate its 28th birthday by staging picnic events around the country.
“The picnics symbolize that the DPP is not a party for the privileged, rather, it will always stand with the general populace,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said at a picnic in Greater Taichung, where she was campaigning for the party’s mayoral candidate, Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). “All of our candidates [in the year-end nine-in-one elections] share the same idea: to enable people to live happily.”
She said that what the public wants may be ordinary, but it takes extraordinary government leadership to fulfil those needs, such as safe food, security and a good transportation network. Tsai added that she is confident the DPP nominees will be extraordinary leaders.
Tsai also took part in a picnic in Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港), after campaigning for the party’s candidate for Changhua County commissioner, Wei Ming-ku (魏明谷).
Prior to the its anniversary celebrations yesterday, the party decided to expel several of its members for insisting on running in the Nov. 29 elections despite not receiving party nominations.
Those expelled were Hsinchu mayoral candidate James Tsai (蔡仁堅), Hualien County commissioner hopeful Chu Kuo-hua (朱國華), Greater Taoyuan mayoral candidate Hsu Jui-chih (許睿智) and 18 local councilor hopefuls, including New Taipei City Councilor Lee Wan-yu (李婉鈺) and Taoyuan County Councilor Lo Wen-chin (羅文欽).
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
BETTER SERVICE QUALITY: From Nov. 10, tickets with reserved seats would only be valid for the date, train and route specified on the ticket, THSRC said Starting on Nov. 10, high-speed rail passengers with reserved seats would be required to exchange their tickets to board an earlier train. Passengers with reserved seats on a specific train are currently allowed to board earlier trains on the same day and sit in non-reserved cars, but as this is happening increasingly often, and affecting quality of travel and ticket sales, Taiwan High-Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) announced that it would be canceling the policy on Nov. 10. It is one of several new measures launched by THSRC chairman Shih Che (史哲) to improve the quality of service, it said. The company also said
RSS