Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday said the government has fully prepared for maintaining order during today's elections.
Yu urged political parties and their candidates to be rational on the eve of the poll and respect the decision of the voters after the results of the elections are known, Cabinet Spokesman Chen Chi-mai (
Yu ordered police to step up security at polling stations around the country and take action against those who make trouble.
He also instructed the Ministry of Justice to continue its crackdown on vote-buying, which reaches its peak on the day before the election. Authorities should be on the lookout for a new method in which voters are paid after the elections, he said.
The polls will open at 8am and close at 4pm. Central Election Commission Deputy Secretary-General Teng Tien-yu (
Voters are not permitted to take mobile phones or cameras into polling stations. Offenders are subject to imprisonment of up to one year, community service or a fine of up to NT$30,000, he said.
Teng urged voters to mark their choices in the designated space on the ballots, though a vote will also be counted as valid if it is marked on the number, photo or name of a candidate.
Those who tear up their ballots can be fined up to NT$50,000, and those who take their ballots out of the polling stations are subject to jail terms of up to one year, community service or a fine of up to NT$15,000, Teng added.
CEC Chairman Chang Cheng-hsiung (張政雄) said yesterday that voter turnout for today's legislative elections is expected to be 67 percent and the vote count is expected to be completed by 9pm.
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
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
RSS