The opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said yesterday that it will seek to revise the election and recall law to lower the percentage of votes required by political parties for legislator-at-large positions and political party subsidies from 5 percent to 2 percent.
Chen Chien-ming (
Chen's suggestion echoed recent statements by the opposition New Party and the new Nonpartisan Solidarity Union, headed by former Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya (
Legislator-at-large seats are awarded to each party in proportion to the number of votes it receives in legislative elections.
Chen claimed at a press conference that lowering the threshold will also change the dynamics of competition between the pan-blue alliance of the KMT and its two allied parties, the People First Party and the New Party, against the pan-green camp of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its ally the TSU, as well as addressing political polarization among the public.
He noted that when the KMT was the dominant party, the DPP's Chang Chun-hsiung (
Asked why the TSU -- which has former president Lee Teng-hui (
In addition to strengthening a pluralistic society, Chen claimed that the plan would encourage "native" KMT legislators, as opposed to the KMT's old-guard members, to defect to other parties or form their own political groups or parties and further erode the power of once-monolithic KMT party machine.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
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