New Power Party (NPP) Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) yesterday said that caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) could be drafted as its presidential candidate if the party decides to join next year’s presidential race.
“If the party decides to nominate its own presidential candidate, drafting Huang would be a key option,” Hsu told a news conference at the caucus office in Taipei.
It is just an idea from the party headquarters and not yet a formal proposal, he said, adding that Huang has been consulted.
A proposal for the party to nominate its own candidate is still being discussed internally, he added.
If NPP members decide that Huang should be drafted, they would need to persuade him into accepting the arrangement before confirming the nomination at the party’s national convention, he said.
Asked about the headquarters’ plan to draft him, Huang said that he remains focused on his job as a legislator and promoting reforms.
The party also announced a list of 20 bills it plans to promote in the new legislative session, which starts on Tuesday next week.
The bill of the highest priority would be one requiring elected government officials to step down if they run for other positions, Hsu said.
If passed by mid-November, the bill would require Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, to relinquish his position starting the day he registers to run for president.
Such a law would not restrict people’s right to stand in election, but would require government officials to be more responsible, Huang said, adding that Hawaii, Texas and Florida have similar laws.
Other bills the NPP is to promote during the session include an anti-infiltration bill and a minimum wage bill, as well as amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), the Act Governing Relations with Hong Kong and Macau (香港澳門關係條例), the Mining Act (礦業法), the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) and the Prison Camp Act (外役監條例), the party said.
Separately, National Taiwan University professor of economics Cheng Hsiu-ling (鄭秀玲) was sworn in as the NPP’s legislator-at-large, replacing former legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, whose NPP membership was revoked earlier this month for tarnishing the party’s image.
Green Party Taiwan in July found that two non-governmental organizations run by a former assistant of Kawlo had received NT$4 million (US$128,123 at the current exchange rate) in subsidies from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which she was supervising.
While she would only be a legislator for four months, Cheng said that she hopes to collaborate with civil groups and would focus on promoting policies on politics, education, technology and the economy.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS