Differences in values forestall any immediate “integration” with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in the race for Hsinchu City’s legislative seat, New Power Party (NPP) candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said yesterday.
“We have to pursue our values, and those values are not ‘swappable,’” Chiu said.
“Currently, there are value differences [with Ker], which we take seriously, making integration extremely difficult,” Chiu said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
He called for Ker to agree to a public debate, holding out the possibility of “integration” if there was an “adequate foundation” after gauging public opinion.
Chiu’s statement comes as he faces increasing pressure to withdraw from the race amid reports that Ker’s campaign is struggling, with DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) saying on Wednesday at a meeting of the party’s Central Governing Committee that more should be done to help his campaign.
Ker, who represented the district for several terms before being elected as an at-large legislator, has returned to campaign for his former seat because of DPP rules, which forbid members from serving as at-large legislators for more than two terms.
Chiu said that his main difference with Ker centered around the necessity of promoting a “transparent and professional” Legislative Yuan, as he criticized Ker’s use of “cross-caucus negotiations” to facilitate passage of controversial bills during his tenure as DPP caucus whip.
“This system [of negotiations] is riddled with problems, including closed talks, hollowing out [legislative] committees and concreting power in the hands only a few people,” Chiu added.
“After bills are sent into cross-caucus negotiations, they can be completely altered, so if you’re a [regular legislative] committee member, you won’t take the review of bills seriously because it’s meaningless,” he said.
NPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the party would “support Chiu until the end,” adding that whether the party and DPP would coordinate on electoral districts would be determined on a case-by-case basis.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor