With less than two days to go to the presidential election, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) paraded through Kaohsiung, Tainan, Chiayi, Changhua and Taichung yesterday, with supporters in Dalin Township (大林), Chiayi County, most eager to show their passion and creativity.
Hundreds of people — young and old, men and women — gathered at an intersection near Dalin Elementary School yesterday way more than an hour before Tsai’s scheduled arrival, holding up placards greeting Tsai with “hello president” and “female leader is the global trend,” as well as large and small flags promoting Tsai and the local DPP legislative candidate, Chen Ming-wen (陳明文).
Loud cheers burst among the crowd as soon as Tsai’s convoy arrived, together with continuous chants of “Tsai Ing-wen, get elected” in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) when Tsai got out of her van to climb onto an open-air jeep with bullet proof glass around it.
Photo: Su Fang-ho, Taipei Times
Tsai smiled and waved to the crowd, and the motorcade had a hard time departing, as the supporters surrounded it.
Supporters in Dalin were eager to show their passion and creativity.
When Tsai passed by the Dalin train station, she was greeted by several young women dressed in wedding gowns, one of them holding a sign that read: “if Tsai gets elected, I will get married.”
Photo: Loa Iok-sin, Taipei Times
Going into a community named Neilin (內林), a supporter held a sign that said: “Tsai Ing-wen, you are my darling” — which is a play on words, because the pronunciation of the township name “Dalin” is similar to that of “darling.”
Several villagers also held handmade lion masks for the traditional lion dance, while in other communities, supporters carried with them signs that read: “Dalin township fully supports you” made with traditional flower-patterned cloth.
In another community within the township, local farmers held up boxes of locally grown fruits, both as a gesture of welcome to Tsai and a way to promote the local produce.
Tsai ended her parade in Taichung, where a notable incident occurred.
When Tsai’s motorcade passed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) headquarters in the city, KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) supporters gathered outside, chanting slogans for Chu.
Tsai smiled and waved to them in response.
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