A rally to be held in Kaohsiung today by civic groups is to call for an end to malicious attacks and ridicule, which they said have overshadowed the city’s mayoral election.
The “1117 We Care” parade is to set out from the Kaohsiung Cultural Center at 1:30pm and continue along a 5km route ending at the Hamasen Railway Cultural Park. The march is to take an hour-and-a-half to two hours, with performances along the way.
The event would send a message that the Kaohsiung residents “reject smear campaigns, stand up against bullies, oppose intervention, and want to stop hatred and safeguard Kaohsiung,” the organizers said.
Photo: CNA
The alliance was launched by civic groups and prominent figures in the city’s culture and arts scene.
Alliance members said that in light of the demeaning rhetoric, spread of disinformation and online bullying that have overshadowed the city’s mayoral election, they want to urge people to step out of the spiral of silence, abandon the so-called “Han tide” and instead express their love for Kaohsiung with concrete actions.
The “Han tide” refers to the popularity of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who has made a name for himself with unpolished remarks, most notoriously his description of Kaohsiung as an “old and poor” city.
Photo: Wang Jung-hsiang, Taipei Times
Former Kaohsiung Cultural Affairs Bureau director-general Yin Li (尹立), who is to serve as the “commander-in-chief” of the parade, on Wednesday said that it would be open to city residents, but candidates and other politicians are also invited to join.
“We hope to create a joyous atmosphere that day and minimize the presence of campaign slogans,” Yin said.
More than 10,000 had registered for the event yesterday, the organizers said, adding that they anticipated at least 30,000 participants today.
DPP Kaohsiung mayoral candiate Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said he would join the parade as an ordinary citizen to support Kaohsiung.
Meanwhile, Han’s team on Thursday evening released a campaign video that features the stories of three so-called “northern drifters” and “underscores the sense of helplessness” felt by many young people from Kaohsiung.
To seize the last remaining weekend days to campaign for votes, Han is to hold a campaign event from 7pm to 10pm today in Fongshan District (鳳山).
The event is to feature several celebrities, including producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳), but no political heavyweights were listed as special guests.
Chen Chi-mai is tomorrow to stage an evening campaign event in Gangshan District (岡山) that is to feature Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) and Premier William Lai (賴清德).
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced a bill to enhance cooperation with Taiwan on drone development and to reduce reliance on supply chains linked to China. The proposed Blue Skies for Taiwan Act of 2026 was introduced by Republican US senators Ted Cruz and John Curtis, and Democratic US senators Jeff Merkley and Andy Kim. The legislation seeks to ease constraints on Taiwan-US cooperation in uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including dependence on China-sourced components, limited access to capital and regulatory barriers under US export controls, a news release issued by Cruz on Wednesday said. The bill would establish a "Blue UAS
The Republic of China Army Command yesterday relieved Kinmen Defense Battalion commander after authorities indicted the officer on charges connected to using methamphetamine. The Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday detained Colonel He (何) after the Coast Guard linked him to drug shipments and proceeded to charge him yesterday for using and possessing crystal meth. The man was released on a NT$50,000 bail and banned from leaving Kinmen, the office said. Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) told a news conference yesterday that He has been removed and another officer is taking over the unit as the acting commander. The military
RSS