Republican Party legislative candidates yesterday promised to pursue clean politics if elected, signing a pledge to reject “red envelope” bribes and offers to rig government contracts, as well as to snub land speculation.
“From long-term care to housing to daycare, the government has failed to lay out policies for addressing the public’s needs and has instead handed over its responsibilities to corporations,” party spokesman Hsu Shih-shun (徐世勳) said. “What is even worse is there are often political figures behind the corporations, allowing them to act as arbiter to manipulate policies.”
The manipulation of government contracts has held back important infrastructure investments, and has caused the market to shrink and led to an outflow of capital by harming the nation’s investment environment, he said.
The party chose to raise the issue now to publicize its emphasis on clean politics before tomorrow’s legislative elections, Hsu said.
When asked why most of the party’s candidates failed to sign a Citizen Congress Watch (CCW) to publicize positions held by candidates in corporations and other organizations, Hsu said that the party voted to treat the CCW’s pledge with caution.
Only three Republican Party candidates have signed the CCW pledge, he said.
“There are numerous points in its wording that we do not agree with,” Hsu said, referring to CCW’s legislative reform proposals.
Several candidates also said that they had not been notified by the group.
“I feel that we as candidates have been bullied,” legislative candidate Rahic Amind said, adding that organizations often fail to contact candidates in a timely manner, often asking them to take last minute black-or-white stances on issues that they have no clear position.
He has not been contacted by CCW, Rahic Amind said.
When asked if the party had coordinated with the People First Party (PFP) in promulgating the pledge, Hsu stated that in previous conversations, PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) had expressed support for Republican Party principles.
Inviting him to sign the pledge should not be a problem, he said, adding that the party hoped that Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party leaders would also sign it.
Republican Party Chairwoman Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) is paired with Soong on the PFP’s ticket for vice presidential candidate.
Hsu Hsin-ying said that if elected, the parties would focus on Soong’s policies, adding that each party had separate policies and basic demands. While the Republican Party is focused more on legal reform and labor issues, its policy stances did not conflict with the PFP’s, as the two parties complement each other, he said.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS