The Central Election Commission (CEC) formally published the candidates' list for the March 22 presidential election and their place on the ballot yesterday.
Democratic Progressive Party candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) and his running mate, Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) will appear first, followed by the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Vincent Siew (蕭萬長).
The official campaign period begins today and runs through March 21, with campaign hours from 7am to 10pm daily, the commission said.
By law, candidates who allow campaign activities to continue past the deadlines or disturb the peace or the life of residents can be fined up to NT$5 million (US$159,600) for each violation.
The number of eligible voters is estimated at more than 17 million, and the CEC is expected to finish compiling the voter rolls by March 2 and announce the actual number on March 18.
Officials reminded the public that release of election-related opinion poll results is banned during the last 10 days before the election as is reporting on them.
A Taiwanese woman on Sunday was injured by a small piece of masonry that fell from the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican during a visit to the church. The tourist, identified as Hsu Yun-chen (許芸禎), was struck on the forehead while she and her tour group were near Michelangelo’s sculpture Pieta. Hsu was rushed to a hospital, the group’s guide to the church, Fu Jing, said yesterday. Hsu was found not to have serious injuries and was able to continue her tour as scheduled, Fu added. Mathew Lee (李世明), Taiwan’s recently retired ambassador to the Holy See, said he met
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