Registrations for the legislative elections concluded yesterday as a number of small parties registered their legislator-at-large candidates.
Parties registering with the Central Election Commission included delegations from the New Party, China Unification Promotion Party, Republican Party and Military, Civil Servants and Faculty Alliance Party.
“I’ve always thought my ideals were similar to those of the New Party — our hearts and thoughts have always been together,” said former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Chiu Yi (邱毅), who was a surprise candidate on the New Party’s legislator-at-large list, after the failure of a rumored campaign to win a spot on the KMT list.
After registering with other New Party candidates, he declined to comment on whether he was dissatisfied with the KMT’s decision, saying KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) had his own considerations in drafting the list.
“We’re a party with a mission, and our words and stance won’t change because of the elections,” China Unification Promotion Party Chairman (總裁) Chang An-le (張安樂) said. The party yesterday took out advertisements covering half the front pages of the Chinese-language United Daily News and China Times to promote its first national electoral bid.
While the party has previously fielded candidates only in local contests, it felt that participating in national elections would bring greater visibility, said Chang, who is also known as the “White Wolf.”
Other small parties also registered candidates for the first time, such as the pigeon hobbyist Peace Pigeon Union and the scooter riders’ Motorists Party.
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