The Republic Party yesterday announced its legislator-at-large list, including Chen Hu-men (陳虎門), a former intelligence official who was jailed over his involvement in the assassination of a California-based journalist during the Martial Law era.
Lawyer Chen Han-chou (陳漢洲) heads the list, with labor union representative Lin Hsi-wei (林錫維) ranking second.
Republic Party Chairperson Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) said the party hopes voters would give its candidates an opportunity to enter the Legislative Yuan and use their professional backgrounds to increase its effectiveness and address the nation’s problems.
“This time, we have made sure to include people with a background in the military and intelligence, because the government has neglected this area for a long time,” Hsu said.
Chen is ranked third on the party’s list, while Lee Tien-tuo (李天鐸) — a former National Security Bureau colonel — is ranked fifth.
Chen spent time in prison in the 1980s for his role in training the assassins of Henry Liu (劉宜良) after Liu published an unauthorized biography of then-president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國).
The involvement of intelligence agency personnel in the incident — known as the Jiangnan case, a reference to Liu’s pen name — created tensions in relations with the US because of Liu’s status as a naturalized US citizen and the fact that he was killed on US soil.
Chen is to register under the name Chen Yi-chiao (陳弈樵), which he said he adopted following his time in prison.
He is rumored to have been selected because of a close relationship with Buddhist leader Miao Tien (妙天), who is also a former intelligence official, media reports said.
Miao Tien is Hsu’s Buddhist master and is rumored to have close ties to party officials.
Hsu — who is the running mate of People First Party (PFP) presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) — denied rumors that her party had nominated a separate slate of at-large district candidates after negotiations with the PFP broke down.
Today is the deadline for registering candidates, with the PFP announcing its slate on Tuesday.
Separately, the New Power Party (NPP) announced a slate of eight “task-oriented” legislative district candidates to put its number of district candidates above the 10-candidate threshold required to be eligible to allocate at-large legislators.
In response to complaints from pan-green candidates in districts shared between the NPP and other opposition parties that they had not been consulted beforehand, NPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) reiterated the party’s stance that the candidates would not campaign for themselves, instead seeking to win the NPP more votes on the at-large legislative ballot.
If pan-green candidates still have concerns, NPP candidates would be willing to campaign for them, he said.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
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