Civic groups and New Power Party (NPP) legislators yesterday said that the party has not provided substantial help to Kaohsiung land rights advocates, following media reports that the party had involved itself in a fight against a city-sponsored demolition in a bid to lay the foundations for its platform in the 2018 local elections.
“Our main source of help has come from extremely small political parties such as the Free Taiwan Party and Green Party Taiwan,” said Cheng Yuan-wen (鄭淵文), head of a self-help association for residents of Kaohsiung’s Dagouding (大溝頂) — a row of houses in the city’s Qishan District (旗山) that is slated for demolition as part of efforts to improve an underlying drainage canal.
“Our only connection with the NPP is that we asked [NPP legislators] Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) and Kawlo Iyun Pacidal to hold a Taipei press conference, that is all. They absolutely have not sent aides to help us,” he said.
While Kawlo had helped them request government documents, neither legislator had agreed to help with the news conference, Hung said, adding that Kawlo’s office director had spoken at a rally held by the self-help association last month.
Dissatisfaction with the city’s resettlement plans has caused more than 30 residents to resist the demolition, which the city has scheduled for next week.
Media reports earlier this week said Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had asked President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to put pressure on the NPP to stop “interfering” in the Dagouding controversy, after NPP party aides reportedly encouraged residents to resist resettlement.
“We welcome any progressive forces paying attention to Kaohsiung issues, but we cannot accept those progressive forces standing with the traditionalist and ‘feudal’ Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in resisting the Kaohsiung City Government,” she said earlier this week, in response to media queries.
The NPP and DPP cooperated closely during January’s national elections, but are expected to compete against each other for votes in the 2018 local elections.
“It is not that the NPP is ‘interfering’ in anything — these kinds of issues are what we have always cared about,” Kawlo said, while acknowledging that a party aide had spoken at the self-help association’s rally.
“We definitely respect the decision of the city government,” she said, adding the party was still in the process of understanding the issue, with no plans to stake a definite position or provide help to residents before the city’s demolition deadline next week.
NPP Secretary-General Chen Hui-min (陳惠敏) said the party planned to compete in all counties and cities nationwide during the 2018 local elections and would likely establish offices in both Tainan and Kaohsiung.
There were not yet any specific plans for how the party would compete in Kaohsiung, she said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
RSS