New Power Party (NPP) legislative candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) yesterday registered his candidacy for the Hsinchu district seat, following the failure of efforts to “integrate” with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘).
“We showed a huge amount of good faith by putting out the possibility of integration polls, but that was not something we could make happen on our own,” Chiu said. “Prior to the official registration, there was always a possibility of using polls to integrate, but that possibility fell apart after [Ker] registered on Monday.”
“Integration” refers to an ad hoc primary process under which competing candidates agree to withdraw from the race and support whoever ranks highest in a negotiated set of surveys.
Photo: Wang Chun-chieh, Taipei Times
Ker last week was quoted in the Chinese-language media as saying that integration was a “fake issue” used for “electoral manipulation.”
“We will keep moving forward on our set course,” Chiu said, adding that while reform of the Legislative Yuan will remain one of the pillars of his campaign, his focus would be on the system, not Ker’s role as the DPP caucus whip.
Chiu has been critical of role that cross-party negotiations — often conducted behind closed doors — play in the passage of legislation, while Ker has said that such discussions are a necessary measure to solve deadlocks on the legislative floor.
Ker yesterday dismissed concerns that having two pan-green candidates in the race would deliver a victory to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐), citing last year’s Hsinchu mayoral election that saw DPP candidate Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) elected even though former DPP mayor Tsai Jen-chien (蔡仁堅) ran as an independent in the race.
Hsinchu is now the sole legislative district to have both a DPP and a NPP candidate in the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections, as the parties were able to coordinate on the nominations for most of the other district seats where there was an overlap.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS