In a creative "soft power" approach to opposing China's "Anti-Secession" Law, women's groups yesterday called on parents to bring their children to join a "Naked Kiddie Butt" rally on Friday.
The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Women's Development and Action Committee, the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights (TAPWR) and the 21st Century Association for Women in Taiwan held a press conference yesterday to announce the "Mommy and Kiddie Love and Defend Taiwan" rally on Friday.
The organizations hope to attract at least 706 children from ages three to six to put "anti-missile" stickers on their naked buttocks as a way to protest against China's missile threat. According to the government, China has 706 missiles deployed within striking range of Taiwan.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSUING, TAIPEI TIMES
"Children's innocent bodies represent our gentle but resolute voice to mock China's ridiculous law, and declare our determination to protect both Taiwan and the safety of the next generation," said DPP Legislator Shu Chia-chin (
President of the 21st Century Association for Women in Taiwan Tu Huang Fang-fen (杜黃芳粉) said that the legislation is a threat to world peace and fuels independence sentiments in Taiwan. She urged all women in Taiwan to stand up and join the demonstration.
"Let's not be absent from the opportunity to express our strong opposition to the legislation. I call on every Taiwanese woman to bring not only her child, but her whole family to join us," Tu said.
In addition, Hsu plans to gather at least 100 pregnant women to participate in the March 26 demonstration against China's Anti-Secession Law organized by the "Democracy, Peace and Defend Taiwan Alliance" (
"We also welcome housewives, professional women, grandmothers and all the women in Taiwan to wear aprons and bring their baby carriages or grocery bags and pour onto the street to march together," she added.
The "Mommy & Kiddie Love Taiwan and Defend Taiwan" rally will start at 10:10am Friday morning in front of the east square of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
The march set for Saturday will start from different 10 places in Taipei City, with each route dubbed a different name, to symbolize opposition to the 10 clauses in China's Anti-Secession Law.
The final part of the procession will bring the various routes together at Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office.
For more information on Friday's rally, call at 02-2392-9989 ext. 520.
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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