The Minkuotang (MKT), or the Republic Party, yesterday announced its initial slate of district candidates for January’s legislative elections.
MKT Chairperson Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) said she would seek re-election for her Hsinchu County seat, while three other candidates would contest districts in Miaoli County, Taipei and New Taipei City.
The Legislative Yuan is seen as a “madhouse” marked by “scorched earth” political conflict, causing both idleness and exhaustion on the part of lawmakers, Hsu said.
It needs more high-quality legislators because it lacks efficiency in passing legislation, passing an average of only 100 bills a year, she said.
Hsu — who won the most votes of any district legislator in the 2012 legislative elections — faces Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) and independent candidate Cheng Yung-chin (鄭永金), who is backed by the DPP, in the January polls.
Former independent Miaoli County legislator Kang Shih-ju (康世儒) is trying to win back the seat from the incumbent, KMT Legislator Chen Chao-ming (陳超明), and also faces former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Tou Wen-ching (杜文卿).
Wu Hsu-chih (吳旭智) will run in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) against incumbent KMT Legislator Chiang Nai-shin (蔣乃辛) and Social Democratic Party candidate Fan Yun (范雲).
Chang Ching-fang (張菁芳) faces off in New Taipei City’s Yonghe/Jhonghe (永和/中和) electoral district against KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) and Taiwan Solidary Union (TSU) at-large Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安).
Questioned about Chang and Wu’s lack of political experience, Hsu said that all politicians were once “political novices.”
When asked why all four districts where the MKT is running candidates are “pan-blue” strongholds, she said that candidates had been nominated after they expressed a willingness to stand for election, with no deliberate effort to pick districts, Hsu said.
The party plans to announce more district candidacies next week and its list of at-large candidates later on, she said.
The party has to field at least 10 district candidates to be eligible to win an at-large seat.
Hsu avoided questions about which presidential candidate she would support, saying the party is urging its members to vote for whomever they believe would make the nation prosperous and strong.
There was substantial room for future cooperation with other parties, she said.
Hsu founded the MKT in March after withdrawing from the KMT. She said at the time that Taiwan needed more choices than just the “blue and green” — referring to the KMT, the DPP and their allies.
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
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS