The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday said that it would hold a march against Chinese annexation in Kaohsiung on Saturday, the same day pro-independence group the Formosa Alliance is to hold a rally in Taipei to oppose annexation and call for a referendum on the issue.
The DPP Central Standing Committee on Sept. 19 passed a resolution barring party members from attending the alliance’s rally on Ketagalan Boulevard, citing an insufficient workforce ahead of next month’s elections.
However, it decided to send a team of representatives — including caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) and DPP Electoral Strategy Committee coconvener Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) — to communicate with the alliance on the issue.
Photo: AFP
The DPP is not against the alliance’s theme of opposing Chinese annexation, but with the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections approaching, allowing DPP candidates to attend the Taipei rally could affect the momentum of party campaigns, Chen told reporters.
At the party’s meeting last month, members discussed whether to attend the rally, he said, adding that some said it should, while others opposed the idea and some voiced concern over Formosa Television highlighting the party’s absence.
The committee decided to bar all party members from attending so that responsibility would fall entirely on the party, he said.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) has visited alliance convener Kuo Pei-hung (郭倍宏) — who is also chairman of Formosa TV — many times, Chen Ming-wen said, adding that he does not know whether Kuo agrees with the party’s stance on the rally.
The DPP yesterday spoke with leaders of pro-independence groups, who “basically understood” the party’s stance, which does not contravene its long-term goal of defending Taiwan’s right to self-determination, he said.
The DPP is not against protesting Chinese annexation, he added.
In addition, the responsibility to approve road-use applications lies with the Taipei City Government, DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said, responding to the alliance’s accusation that the DPP administration and city government blocked the group from receiving permission to use Ketagalan Boulevard.
The rally organizer must understand this procedure, so the accusation could only be an attempt at smearing the party, he said, demanding an apology from the group.
The city government has already explained that the group cannot not be granted use of the road because another group has already been given permission to use it that day, Cheng said.
The DPP has never opposed granting the alliance road use or intervened in its application process, he said.
While it agrees that every citizen has the right to participate in rallies and marches, the party respects the city government’s explanation, Cheng added.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
RSS