National Civil Servant Association president Harry Lee (李來希) yesterday promised to throw his weight behind a move to recall New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) by people opposed to same-sex marriage, even as the latter expressed reservations about pursuing a closer alliance.
Lee urged people opposed to pension reform to participate in a recall rally this morning outside New Taipei City’s Sijhih Railway Station.
“NPP lawmakers only have empty ideas without real societal experience, advocating avant-garde and reckless legislation because they do not have a clear sense of the situation,” Lee said, citing as an example Huang’s support for same-sex marriage and an NPP-sponsored pension reform amendment allowing divorced spouses to claim a share of pension benefits.
“This would create payment difficulties, by leading to lawsuits after people retire. Because responsible agencies will not be able to determine the right proportion, they are likely to freeze contested payments, putting pressure on pensioners to let spouses take what they want,” he said.
The NPP’s version of pension reform legislation was more stringent than the version that was passed by the legislature, which exempts only near-minimum-wage pension payments from cuts.
Lee said he hoped to incorporate the Greater Taipei Stability Power Alliance campaigning for Huang’s recall in a plan to set up a political party for pensioners.
Leaders of the alliance are closely affiliated with the Faith and Hope League party, which unsuccessfully campaigned for legislative seats in last year’s election on a platform of opposing same-sex marriage.
Opponents of same-sex marriage have been seen on stage at rallies against pension reform, and pension reform opponents have also been observed participating in protests against same-sex marriage.
Both opposition movements share a relatively older and conservative support base, and feel sidelined by the media and government decisionmakers, who they often accuse of collusion to undermine the legitimacy of their voices and concerns.
“Because we do not want to be identified with any political color, we have not invited any political figures to take the stage, and we have politely declined Lee’s offer to attend to show his support,” Greater Taipei Stability Power Alliance chairman Sun Chi-cheng (孫繼正) said, while adding that there might be room for cooperation in mobilizing voters if a formal recall vote is called.
“Now that there is no longer any point for pension reform opponents to protest against the government, Huang is the only immediate pressure point for venting their anger, and we look favorably on that, just as we do for actions by any political party — but we will not allow them to take the stage and lead,” he said.
The petitioners claim to have already exceeded the petition signature threshold for calling such a vote and plan to submit the petitions to the Central Election Commission on Aug. 21.
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. The single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 400,000 and 800,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, saber-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Taiwanese paleontologists have discovered fossil evidence that pythons up to 4m long inhabited Taiwan during the Pleistocene epoch, reporting their findings in the international scientific journal Historical Biology. National Taiwan University (NTU) Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology associate professor Tsai Cheng-hsiu (蔡政修) led the team that discovered the largest snake fossil ever found in Taiwan. A single trunk vertebra was discovered in Tainan at the Chiting Formation, dated to between 800,000 to 400,000 years ago in the Middle Pleistocene, the paper said. The area also produced Taiwan’s first avian fossil, as well as crocodile, mammoth, sabre-toothed cat and rhinoceros fossils, it said. Discoveries
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
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