New Power Party (NPP) caucus whip Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) was yesterday elected party chairman after beating Taipei City Councilor Lin Liang-chun (林亮君) in a chairperson by-election.
Speaking at a news conference after the vote, Hsu said he had originally wanted to convince former chairman Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) to reassume the position, but changed his mind after Chiu urged him to take over the chairmanship.
On Tuesday, the party’s decisionmaking committee failed to elect a leader after members voted 4-7 against Lin, the only candidate to have registered for the vote by its Sunday deadline.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Yesterday, seven committee members voted for Hsu, while five voted for Lin, NPP spokesman Chen Chih-ming (陳志明) said.
While the party has yet to schedule a date for Hsu to officially assume the chairmanship, he would immediately take over party affairs, Chen said.
“The NPP’s future strategies will mostly be an extension of what Chiu has laid down,” Hsu said.
The NPP would adhere to its belief in justice and fairness, and seek to carve out a new path different from those of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), he said.
While the NPP has faced a number of challenges from within and outside, he would swiftly and effectively prepare the party for the presidential and legislative elections in January next year, he added.
The NPP’s goal for the legislative elections is to perform better than it did in the 2016 elections, he said.
Specifically, he hopes the NPP would receive more than 1 million party votes, he said.
The NPP would nominate more legislative candidates in different constituencies and hopes to continue to play a pivotal role at the legislature, he added.
Asked if he would collaborate with the DPP or other pan-green parties in the elections, Hsu said he would keep an open mind.
“I am always ready to talk and can meet as many times as needed,” he said, adding that he hopes to meet with DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) to discuss collaborating in the elections as well as at the legislature.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS