Former New Power Party (NPP) chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said that he would leave the NPP without hesitation if it turned into a “sidekick” to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Working for the DPP was “not what he wanted to do” in joining the NPP, he said during a livestream yesterday.
The two parties could cooperate if there was an inclusive and impartial platform for doing so, he said.
Screen grab from the Internet
Huang’s broadcast was seemed to respond to media reports that the NPP approached fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢), seeking to collaborate.
Chen in a live broadcast on Friday confirmed that Huang had approached him about being a legislator-at-large for the NPP, adding that he had declined the offer after giving it some deliberation.
Chen, who runs his own chain of fitness centers, said that he has a responsibility to his shareholders and employees, adding that he feels society “likes people who can lie, rather than those like me who get things done.”
Huang had since the legislative session’s adjournment spoken with a number of experienced people to learn from them and get their feedback, he said yesterday, adding that his three-hour conversation with Chen, in which he had brought up the possibility of a collaboration, had been part of that effort.
Huang said he hoped to gain a better understanding of the type of government needed and where he personally should apply more effort.
The past three years in the legislature has been tiring for him, due to the limited number of NPP seats, he added.
The DPP, with its majority, can approve or shoot down proposals at will, while the NPP can only strengthen its supervisory role, he said, adding that his efforts to keep the DPP in check in the Legislative Yuan have caused some pan-green camp supporters to brand him a “traitor.”
They have told him that he would not have been elected legislator of New Taipei City’s 12th constituency if the DPP had not yielded the position to him, but the DPP never won the city’s Sijhih District (汐止), he said.
Huang said he hoped that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would not win the presidency next year, and that neither the KMT nor the DPP would win a majority in the legislature, as that would leave the public disappointed again.
“If there is to be something to balance out the two major parties, then the third force [the NPP] needs to grow larger,” he said.
Huang said he would continue to consult with others, and would inform the public when his plans are solidified.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS