The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday approved a motion to launch a recall of New Power Party (NPP) Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌).
The motion was launched on May 19 by Greater Taipei Stability Power Alliance chairman Sun Chi-cheng (孫繼正), who must obtain the official signature billet from the commission before Friday or his request would be considered aborted.
Sun said that as a legislator, Huang was not invested with the authority to support legal marriage for same-sex couples and that he was a disruptive force in society with his support of the new labor rules and the service trade agreement.
Based on the population of Huang’s constituency, by law Sun needed 2,512 signatures to support his motion. He submitted 2,984 signatures and the commission ruled that 2,637 were valid.
Sun must file a petition within 60 days of receiving the official format for the second-stage signature drive, the commission said.
The petition must be signed by one-10th of the electoral district’s total population, or 25,120 voters, for a successful recall motion, it said.
Huang said that same-sex marriage has been supported by the Council of Grand Justices as a part of human rights as guaranteed under the Constitution, and he would not waver in his support of such rights.
Huang said he respected difference of opinions, but called on Sun and his supporters to refrain from spreading misinformation and discriminatory lies.
The grand justices on May 25 said the Civil Code’s restriction of marriage to a man and a woman “violated” guarantees of freedom of marriage and equality.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain