Cable TV anchorperson Chen Yi-chen (陳以真) said yesterday that she would represent the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in contesting a Chiayi County seat in January’s legislative elections, throwing a twist into a race considered to be a sure win for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Chen will campaign against DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), a former Chiayi County councilor, for the county’s second electoral district.
Chen Ming-wen said 34-year-old Chen Yi-chen’s family, like his, had a deeply rooted relationship with the county, adding that her decision to run in the election would have an impact on a relationship between their two families that has lasted for several decades.
Worried about a possible schism between the families, Chen Ming-wen said the DPP might reconsider its election strategy, without elaborating.
However, DPP spokesman Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) rejected the incumbent’s suggestion, saying Chen Ming-wen was the “best fit” for the position.
The KMT’s new candidate is part of a family that controls the Nice Group, which has a major presence in Chiayi and is one of the nation’s most influential conglomerates, but Chen Yi-chen pledged not to rely on her family during the campaign.
Her father, Chen Jing-yao (陳鏡堯), who was convicted in 2006 on breach of trust charges in a high-profile insider trading case, is now the vice president of Nice subsidiary, AGV Products Corp, a leading food processor.
Chen Yi-chen’s announcement raised eyebrows because she publicly declined the party’s invitation early last month to contest the seat, but she changed her mind after meeting President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).
Dismissing speculation that she was pressured into running to boost the president’s re-election bid in the county, she said she made the decision to run based on what she described as a passion for public issues.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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