Several groups are planning to hold a mass rally next to the Legislative Yuan on Sunday to call for an end to what they say is the hereditary control of local politics and to back demands for reform of the Referendum Act (公民投票法).
Organizers, including Taiwan March, Taiwan Inversion and the Appendectomy Project, said the nation’s electoral politics require a major overhaul to ensure channels for direct democracy.
Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷), a member of Taiwan March and one of the leaders of the Sunflower movement’s 23-day occupation of the legislature’s main chamber in March and early April, called on the public to support calls to reform the Referendum Act.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Chen urged supporters to “return to Jinan Road” in Taipei on Sunday to back demands for direct democracy.
“Under our current political system, citizens are rarely capable of monitoring the actions of politicians,” Chen told a news conference in Taipei, adding that despite public opposition, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration has continued to promote cross-strait trade agreements.
Citing what they said is the large number of candidates in local councilor elections whose family members hold political office, the activists also urged for the public to demand an end to hereditary control of local politics.
“There is nothing wrong about coming from a family with a political background, however, such candidates often face a lower barrier to entry [into politics] and have more resources in their quest for political office, so they deserve more public scrutiny,” said Urda Yen (嚴婉玲), a member of Taiwan Inversion, a movement that aims to raise the quality of Taiwanese politics.
About one-third of the candidates for city councilor posts in Taipei come from families with political backgrounds, Yen said.
Yen urged supporters to participate in an online vote to determine the “top 10 dominant political families” in Taiwan.
Meanwhile, the Appendectomy Project also announced that it plans to launch a recall campaign against three Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, with the signature collection to be launched on Nov. 29 to coincide with nine-in-one elections.
The project said the trio — Lin Hung-chih (林鴻池), Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) and Alex Tsai (蔡正元), who also serves KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) campaign director — have failed the public by adhering solely to Ma’s instructions.
“Never in the history of Taiwanese electoral politics has an elected representative been recalled by the people,” an Appendectomy Project representative surnamed Lin (林) said. “We need to set an example, right on election day.”
The name “Appendectomy Project” was chosen for both the group and the recall campaign because in Mandarin Chinese, the term for blue-camp legislators, lan wei (藍委) is pronounced the same as “appendix” (闌尾).
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS