With only a week until election day, Taipei mayoral candidates Pasuya Yao (姚文智) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and incumbent Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) were yesterday gearing up for the last mile.
Surrounded by younger supporters, Yao announced that his supporters would tomorrow parade around the Taipei Dome before converging on Taipei City Hall Plaza.
At a news conferences held across from the unfinished project, Yao said that Ko is a “liar” who has colluded with construction companies while neglecting the rights and interests of Taipei residents.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
That is the main reason the dome has remained unfinished, Yao said.
He said that he has more than 400 different policy proposals for different districts and he hoped to use the days until the nine-in-one elections on Saturday next week to meet more people and present his vision for the city’s development.
Meanwhile, Ting’s camp held a roadside canvassing event, also in front of the Taipei Dome, with KMT Vice Chairman Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Ting campaign spokesperson Chan Wei-yuan (詹為元) said that such events would be held throughout the week, starting on Guangfu S Road and Guangfu N Road on Monday and moving to Nanjing E Road on Tuesday.
From Wednesday, Ting would ride around the city in a jeep making visits, Chan said.
A rally is planned tomorrow evening at Rongxing Garden Park (榮星花園) in Zhongshan District (中山), Chan said.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Meanwhile, Ko’s campaign said it would stage a seven-hour rally tomorrow at the North Gate (北門) near Taipei Railway Station, the restoration of which Ko considers one of his first accomplishments as Taipei mayor.
Ko’s administration in 2015 removed within seven days an elevated off-ramp that partially obstructed the view of the North Gate, a feat that many Taipei residents considered to be highly efficient.
Additional reporting by Huang Chien-hao
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group