Richard Chang (張承中), husband of pop singer Selina Jen (任家萱), yesterday announced on Facebook that he will run as an independent legislative candidate in Taipei’s seventh electoral district, becoming the fifth person to enter the race.
The constituency is comprised of Xinyi District (信義) and the southern part of Songshan District (松山).
Chang, a lawyer, said he is “gratified” that friends have urged him to run, including prominent members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the People First Party.
Chang said he is “running to get things done,” and would not “join a party for the sake of running.”
“I am not pan-blue, pan-green or pan-orange, but a force for the center,” he said.
KMT Legislator Alex Fai (費鴻泰), who is seeking re-election in the seventh district, said that everyone has a right to participate in elections in a democracy and he had “no special thoughts” about Chang’s candidacy.
His own record of public service and achievements in “fighting against the establishment” are well known, Tsai said.
Green Party Taiwan and Social Democratic Party Alliance legislative candidate Lu Hsin-chieh (呂欣潔) questioned Chang’s ability to address economic issues such as income inequality, inadequate protection of workers’ rights, youth impoverishment and the costs of raising a family, given that according to Chang’s own announcement he is wealthy enough to own property in Xinyi, one of Taipei’s most expensive districts.
The other candidates in the seventh district race are Taiwan Independence Party member Huang Ching-yuan (黃清原) and former KMT Taipei city councilor Yang Shih-chiu (楊實秋), who was expelled from the KMT in July over comments he made about the central government and is running as an independent.
DPP Taipei chapter head Cheng-kuo (黃承國) said the DPP considers the district a “no-nomination” race in order to give “third-force” candidates room to run.
The DPP would prefer to see non-aligned groups join forces and nominate a single candidate before it considers making one of the candidates its official partner, Huang said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS