The Social Welfare State Front, a coalition of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Taiwan Radical Wings and the Green Party Taiwan, yesterday said it aims to win at least three councilor seats each in Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Tainan and Kaohsiung in the Nov. 24 elections, and to establish united party caucuses in the cities.
The three parties on June 19 founded the front with mediation from former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Chen Zau-nan (陳昭南) to promote their shared platform policies, which include improving public housing, childcare and transportation, and establishing subsidies for start-ups.
The front has candidates in 24 constituencies, Chen said, adding that while the final candidate lists for 20 constituencies have already been determined, those for the remaining four are still being discussed.
Photo courtesy of the Social Welfare State Front
The front is to field one candidate in every constituency, he said.
“If there is more than one candidate, and if no consensus can be reached on who should run in the area, then a primary election would be held in the constituency for local residents to vote for their preferred candidate, but there is also the option of having multiple candidates in one constituency,” Chen said.
The SDP has candidates in five constituencies in Taipei and hopes to have at least three elected in November, said SDP member Hsu Han-yun (許菡芸), who is running for a seat on the Taipei City Council.
The front’s platform would benefit not only Taipei, but also other cities and counties, said Ong Iong-sim (王映心) of the Taiwan Radical Wings, who is also competing for a seat in the Taipei City Council.
“In addition to improving the economy, we should also ensure that wealth is justly distributed. For example, did our salaries increase when GDP growth increased? Instead of being paid more, many were paid less as the wealth gap continues to widen,” Ong said.
The Green Party has councilor candidates in Taoyuan, Jhongli and Hsinchu, and is to nominate more in Hsinchu, party secretary-general Chang Chih-wei (張志偉) said.
The party in 2015 formed the Green-SDP Alliance and hopes to do so again to defeat the New Power Party (NPP), Chang said.
“The NPP has refused to communicate, discuss or negotiate with us. Considering how tough the environment is for minor parties, the NPP, as the most influential minor party, should be more responsible, but if they are unwilling, the Green Party will take up that role,” he said.
The SDP is still considering whether to form an alliance with the Green Party, Hsu said, adding that it also hopes that the NPP would discuss the possibility of collaborating with other minor parties.
The front welcomes any young people who support their platform to join, with the exception of those in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), New Party, People First Party and Chinese Unity Promotion Party, Chen said, adding that he hopes to see more young people with vision replace incompetent politicians from major parties.
Japanese footwear brand Onitsuka Tiger today issued a public apology and said it has suspended an employee amid allegations that the staff member discriminated against a Vietnamese customer at its Taipei 101 store. Posting on the social media platform Threads yesterday, a user said that an employee at the store said that “those shoes are very expensive” when her friend, who is a migrant worker from Vietnam, asked for assistance. The employee then ignored her until she asked again, to which she replied: "We don't have a size 37." The post had amassed nearly 26,000 likes and 916 comments as of this
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
Tourism in Kenting fell to a historic low for the second consecutive year last year, impacting hotels and other local businesses that rely on a steady stream of domestic tourists, the latest data showed. A total of 2.139 million tourists visited Kenting last year, down slightly from 2.14 million in 2024, the data showed. The number of tourists who visited the national park on the Hengchun Peninsula peaked in 2015 at 8.37 million people. That number has been below 2.2 million for two years, although there was a spike in October last year due to multiple long weekends. The occupancy rate for hotels
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
RSS