ELECTIONS
By-election announced
A by-election will be held on Saturday, Jan. 26, next year to fill a post in the second electoral district in Greater Taichung left vacant by former Non-Partisan Solidarity Union legislator Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. Yen’s status as a lawmaker was revoked last month after a guilty verdict on a corruption charge was finalized by the Supreme Court. The commission said that those interested in running may register as candidates from Dec. 17 through Dec. 21. The commission said it would examine candidates’ qualifications before Jan. 3 and determine the order in which the names of eligible candidates appear on the ballot at a draw before Jan. 8. The list of candidates is to be published on Jan. 15. Ballots will be counted immediately after the polling stations close at 4pm on Jan. 26 and the winner will be officially announced before Feb. 1, it added.
AID
State donates to CARE
The government donated 100,000 euros (US$129,320) to a Paris-based non-profit organization on Thursday in support of an education program for underprivileged children in Central America. The program, promoted by CARE France, is aimed at eliminating child labor and encouraging normal schooling for children in 14 cities in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador. It is set to run for 30 months starting on Nov. 22 next year, with the EU contributing 80 percent of the 1.25 million euros needed for the cause. CARE France vice president Daniel Thierry described the donation as an important step by Taiwan to participate in international humanitarian efforts. Taiwan’s representative to France, Michel Lu (呂慶龍), said this latest cooperation with CARE France has created a very good model for Taiwan to contribute to multilateral efforts.
CRIME
Ex-KMT lawmaker indicted
Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Wang Chih-hsiung (王志雄) was indicted by Taipei prosecutors yesterday on suspicion of involvement in an embezzlement scandal. Prosecutors said Wang established Convenient Life Group and formed five sub-companies, and invited the public to invest in the companies, but he allegedly embezzled NT$30 million (US$1 million) from the group between 1997 and 2000. Wang Chih-hsiung, the son of former Chung Hsing Bank president Wang Yu-yun (王玉雲), was a vice chairman of the Chung Hsing Bank. He fled to China in 2007 amid several investigations into allegations of illegal loans made by the bank and embezzlement. He was repatriated last month by the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau agents after being arrested by Chinese authorities in Shanghai.
SOCIETY
Taipei tops quality survey
Taipei ranked first among the nation’s 22 cities and counties in terms of quality of life, according to a survey by Kainan University published yesterday. The survey by the Taoyuan County school said Taipei placed first in six of 11 indices — housing, income, jobs, community, education, environment, governance, health, life satisfaction, safety and work-life balance. Hsinchu City was ranked second, followed by Hsinchu County, Taichung City and New Taipei City (新北市). The survey, the first such assessment made by the university, was based on the “Your Better Life Index” conducted by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
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
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
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
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