A dozen younger prospective Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates for the Nov. 24 city and county councilor elections yesterday established a youth coalition, urging party headquarters to give young party members more visibility.
The Young Blue Power (藍色新力量) coalition was launched at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan amid renewed calls for increased youth participation, echoing similar voices after the KMT’s poor showing in the local and presidential races in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
The coalition consists of 12 aspiring KMT candidates for city and county councilor positions in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taichung and Kaohsiung, and Nantou, Chiayi and Taitung counties.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Noteworthy members include KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin’s (郝龍斌) office spokeswoman Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧), who hopes to run in Taipei’s Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) districts; New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) secretary Chiang I-chen (江怡臻), who is vying to stand in that city’s Tucheng (土城), Shulin (樹林), Sansia (三峽) and Yingge (鶯歌) districts; and former KMT spokesman Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦), who is vying for a seat in the city’s Yonghe District (永和).
“The KMT must stand alongside these young candidates. It should also make an effort to cultivate young talent, and encourage young people to participate in politics and contribute to Taiwan,” New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said at the event.
If elected, young candidates would remember the reasons that motivated them to run for public office and never cease to speak up for the “silent majority,” Hou said.
He also used the event to call on the public to support his election bid, as the KMT is to conduct opinion polls for New Taipei City’s mayoral primary election from today to Thursday.
KMT Legislator Apollo Chen (陳學聖), who was elected Taipei city councilor at the age of 32 in 1989, said the party has not done enough to provide a podium for its talented young members to shine.
Although the event was held to announce the new coalition, it somewhat lost focus due to the presence of Hou and Chen, who on Wednesday last week won the KMT’s nomination for the Taoyuan mayoral election.
The seven coalition members who attended the event jointly expressed their support for Hou, who is competing against two other prospective candidates, including former Taipei County commissioner Chou Hsi-wei (周錫瑋).
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not