New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday denied that he would form a new political party, saying that he hopes to integrate all third-force parties to better counter the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in next year’s legislative elections.
Fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢) on Saturday said in a live broadcast that Huang had told him that he could leave the NPP to form a new party.
The party could be called “the white alliance” or “white power,” Chen said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
When asked about the claim at a rally outside the Control Yuan in Taipei, Huang said that a group of people are indeed organizing a new third-force party, which could be named “the white alliance,” but he is not among them.
He has tried to recruit one of them for the NPP, but the party declined on the grounds that it did not want to become a sidekick to the DPP, Huang said.
If the NPP did become a sidekick to the DPP, he would leave without hesitation, because “that is not my political objective,” the former NPP chairman added.
The KMT and DPP have separately held legislative majorities, and “everyone knows how that turned out,” Huang said.
Having more lawmakers from third-force parties would prevent a ruling party from pushing through whatever bill it wants, holding its power in check, he said.
He has two plans to achieve that goal, Huang said.
“Plan A” envisions recruiting more like-minded people to the NPP, while “plan B” would integrate all third-force parties to increase their combined number of seats in the legislature, he said.
He has visited Chen, among others, to receive feedback on how he could integrate and strengthen third-force parties, he said.
Chen was the second person he talked to about the issue and he was to meet with two more people later yesterday, he added.
A major obstacle to plan A is whether the NPP would become the DPP’s sidekick and how it can convince people that it does not simply play a supporting role to the DPP, he said.
Huang said he is open to other options and suggestions.
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address
RSS