Candidates in the Hualien County commissioner by-election yesterday courted the vote of Aborigines as heavyweight politicians continued to stream down from Taipei.
In a bid to attract support from younger voters, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) traveled to Hualien to join Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山), who is representing the KMT and PFP, in a street procession.
PHOTO: YANG YI-CHUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Last week, about 60 supporters of Wu Kuo-tung (
The group said that they "want no Taipei people intervening the Hualien voters' decision."
Ma nevertheless turned up in the county yesterday and went with Hsieh and his supporters through Meilun, an industrial region in the northern suburbs of Hualien City.
Ma then joined Hsieh at a rally in Nanpin Park, where an Aboriginal festival was taking place, before wrapping up the campaign activities with a gathering held in front of Hsieh's campaign headquarters.
Ma's visit comes a week after PFP Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung (
Today, Hsieh will campaign with
DPP candidate You Ying-lung (
Vying for votes from Aborigines, one of the area's four major ethnic groups along with Hakka, Taiwanese and mainlanders, You yesterday made public his welfare policies for the county's Aborigines.
He promised to create 2,000 jobs for Aborigines and offer NT$5,000 per month to Aboriginal chiefs, of which there are 200 in the county, so they can provide better services to their communities.
A campaign team made up of Aborigines was also created yesterday to support You's campaign.
Wu, the only other candidate in the race, yesterday held a street procession before staging a campaign rally in the evening, during which he laid out his policies and vision for the county.
Wu told the rally he was the only one who could truly represent the voice Hualien's people.
"Does the Hualien by-election need all those people from Taipei to tell us Hualien people who is the best one to bring Hualien a promising future?" Wu said.
"There is no need for Taipei people to intervene in Hualien's affairs," he said.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS