The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus yesterday said that it is planning to amend the Law on Local Government Systems (
Wu was convicted of corruption by the High Court but has appealed the ruling. He has also been charged with vote-buying but is out on NT$1 million (US$29,800) bail.
Although Wu was yesterday suspended from his post in accordance with the law, he can still run in a by-election by resigning and retaking the oath of office if re-elected.
DPP caucus whip William Lai (
"We have told the Taitung electorate that Wu would be suspended from his post if elected," he said. "Now they should know it was a waste of their time and ballots to support Wu in the first place."
Lai said Wu has the right to resign from his position after taking office and the right to run in the by-election, as well as to assume office if elected.
Wu, however, would still be dismissed from his position if convicted by the Supreme Court.
Knowing that he would be immediately suspended from his post after assuming office, Wu divorced his wife Kuang Li-chen (
Wu appointed Kuang before Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples Walis Pelin, who administered his swearing in, could stop him.
However, Pelin said immediately that Wu's suspension was effective directly upon his being sworn in to office and that he therefore did not have the right to name any deputies.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"I think it would be a better idea if they let him depart with dignity," Wang said. "He is, after all, a popularly elected official."
Vice Interior Minister Chang Wen-ying (
Secretary-General of the Taitung County Government Lai Shun-hsien (
In other related news, a by-election to vote on a Chiayi City lawmaker is scheduled for March 11 next year, the Central Election Commission announced yesterday.
The vacancy was left by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Huang Ming-hui (黃敏惠), who was elected Chiayi mayor in the Dec. 3 elections.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
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