After hearing that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) had been shot in Tainan, many supporters in Kaohsiung who had intended to attend a campaign rally that was to be held in that city yesterday went instead to the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) campaign headquarters and watched television coverage of the incident.
Supporters clustered around the headquarters condemned the violence and said they felt angry when they heard about the shooting.
"Once I heard the news I raced [to the campaign headquarters] to find out about President Chen's condition," a Kaohsiung resident surnamed Lin said.
"I feel so sorry that violence has interfered with the election. We should denounce violence and protect our democracy," Lin said.
"Our support for Chen will only be consolidated," Lin said.
When TV stations reported that Chen was not seriously hurt and was being treated in a hospital, the audience clapped, waved their campaign flags and cheered, saying "A-bian (
Supporters concerned about Chen and Lu repeatedly telephoned the DPP's campaign headquarters to inquire into their condition, and many supporters sent flowers to be passed on to the pair.
As of press time, many supporters were still gathered at the DPP's headquarters and appeared unwilling to leave.
Other supporters gathered at the Kaohsiung Municipal Cultural Center, which was to have been the location of a massive campaign rally last night, to pray for Chen and Lu. Many of the supporters brought flashlights and sang songs to express their concern about the pair's condition.
At 8pm last night, Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
"I know you are all very much concerned about President Chen's condition, as am I," Hsieh said.
"But I hope everyone can keep a cool head waiting for everything to become clear. Do not forget to cast your scared ballot tomorrow," he said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
Taiwan next year plans to launch its first nationwide census on elderly people living independently to identify the estimated 700,000 seniors to strengthen community-based healthcare and long-term care services, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said on the sidelines of a healthcare seminar that the nation’s rapidly aging population and declining birthrate have made the issue of elderly people living alone increasingly pressing. The survey, to be jointly conducted by the MOHW and the Ministry of the Interior, aims to establish baseline data and better allocate care resources, he
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