The New Power Party (NPP) yesterday elected human rights lawyer Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) as its new chairman, with Chiu reaffirming the party’s emphases on promoting national sovereignty, labor rights and same-sex marriage.
Former NPP executive chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), who held the post from 2015, late last month surprised supporters by announcing that he would not run for re-election as chairman.
“As the party has developed a steady foundation, this is an appropriate time for me to cast aside my party duties and shift my focus to promoting reforms important to Taiwan’s future,” Huang said at the time.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
Chiu, formerly director of the NPP’s Hsinchu chapter, was elected during a meeting of the party’s decisionmaking committee.
Defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, labor rights and marriage equality are the NPP’s most important missions, Chiu told a news conference after the meeting.
When asked by reporters if he would seek support from Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in next year’s legislative elections, Chiu said that if a political party wants to grow up, it must first win supporters’ trust, rather than asking “big names” to back its candidates.
While the party’s stance on Taiwan’s sovereignty is similar to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP), the NPP has different views about last year’s amendments the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and same-sex marriage, he said.
The party would fight for the right of all couples to get married and receive all protections stipulated in the Civil Code, he said.
After formally taking up the post on March 1, Chiu said he would set up an election strategy committee to review legislative candidates for the nation’s 73 first-past-the-post constituencies, Chiu said.
Huang would continue to play an essential role in the party’s fundraising events and has promised to help scout legislative candidates, Chiu said.
The biggest problem Chiu faces is a lack of funds, he said, adding that he still works as a pro bono lawyer.
He said he hopes that party members could work together at a fundraising event on March 9.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
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
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS