Veteran political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) said he would consult with the Central Election Commission (CEC) about the feasibility of collecting signatures for his presidential candidate bid over the Internet to help him pass the required threshold.
Shih, who previously said that he was not worried about coming up short of the 300,000 signatures he needs to run, yesterday said in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) that he is worried now.
“It would not be honorable for Taiwan if I cannot even run for president,” said Shih, who at one time was the nation’s longest-serving political prisoner, having spent more than 25 years behind bars.
He said he would file a request with the commission, asking it to introduce a rule that would allow signatures to be gathered online, rather than accepting only paper-based signatures.
“The times have changed. Nowadays, people can manage their household information and pay income taxes via the Internet, so why is it that signatures to obtain presidential candidacy cannot be gathered online?” he asked.
The commission’s rule that signatures must be paper-based is a waste of paper that is outdated and environmentally unfriendly, he said, adding that he has collected about 100,000 signatures.
“It is so difficult to achieve, just plain cruel. It is draining my energy,” he said.
Submitting a paper-based signature requires people to provide their identity cards, which is “off-putting” to some, he said.
Shih said the only way to boost his signature drive was through media exposure, adding that many people know of his presidential bid, but not all know he is required to obtain signatures to run.
He said he plans to begin nationwide campaigning at the beginning of next month.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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