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.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
RSS