DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday slammed the KMT for cutting NT$280 million from Hualien County's construction budget, as he stumped for party candidates in the eastern part of the county.
"The budget was allocated to improve Aboriginal people's living conditions, preschool education, Internet lessons for teenage students and the county's sewerage system and police and fire departments," Hsieh told crowds yesterday afternoon, as he urged residents to vote for the DPP's candidate for county commissioner, You Ying-lung (
Hsieh added that the KMT has also frozen a total of NT$580 million meant to fund 98 projects in the county, adding that only 42 of those projects have been started due to the lack of funds.
Hsieh also reiterated the party's plan to push through legislative reforms, including cutting the number of seats in the Legislative Yuan by half and implementing a single district/two votes system.
Also at You's campaign rally yesterday, a women's support group was founded to court female voters for You and two other DPP legislative candidates in the county ? Lu Bo-chi (盧博基) and Chen Yi-hsin (陳義信).
Two celebrities, the premier's second wife Chu A-ying (朱阿英) and TV personality Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰) -- who used to only stump for KMT candidates -- showed up at the rally.
You picked up a major endorsement from the government with Chu's appearance. Chu told reporters, on behalf of Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (
Chu has reportedly been actively campaigning for Chang and other DPP candidates, but out of the public limelight. She has been dodging the media and photographers after a controversy over the premier's two wives made headlines. Yesterday, however, Chu showed no hesitation in joining those on stage at the rally.
Pai made her appearance before Hsieh arrived so she would not be on stage with him. Pai has had a public feud with Hsieh, who she called "a bad guy" during the last Kaohsiung mayoral election, because the DPP chairman negotiated with and later served as defense attorney for Chen Chin-hsing (陳進興). Chen was executed in 1999 for the 1997 kidnapping and murder of Pai's daughter, Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕).
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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