The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday began its mobilization preparation for the upcoming anti-nuclear demonstration on Saturday and expressed its support for allowing absentee voting in referendums if it does not include overseas voters.
“The measure should be considered as it would uphold people’s right to exercise their civil rights,” DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said in response to a proposal initiated by New Taipei City (新北市) Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫).
Other DPP politicians— including Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政), director of the party’s New Taipei City office, and Chuang Ruei-hsiung (莊瑞雄), director of the Taipei City office — also supported the initiative, with Lo saying that the mechanism could boost voter turnout.
However, Lo added that it would require legislative amendments and resolution of some technical issues, which might not be ready in time for a proposed referendum on the fate of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
Absentee voting should also be limited to national referendums and not presidential elections because of the politically complex nature of presidential polls, Lo added.
Lo and Chuang were among the local office directors who attended a meeting with Su yesterday, which discussed the mobilization work for both the anti-nuclear protest to be held on Saturday and the proposed national referendum.
Su called on DPP supporters and members to participate in the Saturday protest, but asked them to keep a low profile by leaving party flags, banners, hats and materials at home, because the protest was a not competition between political parties.
“The protest was initiated by civic groups for the people and it should stay that way,” Su said, adding that the DPP would only play an assisting role in the demonstrations to be held in Taipei, Greater Taichung, Greater Kaohsiung and Taitung, which are expected to draw more than 50,000 participants.
Su also asked the party’s local offices not to mobilize sound trucks for the demonstrations.
Su and former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) both played down calls by some DPP lawmakers for people to view the referendum as a vote of no confidence in President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
“The referendum is about the suspension of the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, rather than the opposition to the president,” Tsai wrote on her Facebook page yesterday.
VOTERS’ CHOICE: The DPP’s Chen and independent candidate Huang conceded defeat before 7:20pm, with Chiang pledging to remain humble and do his best Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday won the Taipei mayoral election, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate defeating the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) pick, former minister of health and welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), and former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), an independent. After polling stations closed at 4pm, the Taipei Election Commission issued a preliminary estimate that voter turnout in the city was about 64 percent, slightly lower than in 2018. Chiang, 43, is to be the youngest Taipei mayor ever, with the KMT regaining the capital after eight years. Chen had an exceptionally high national approval rating when he was head
A naval landing craft on Thursday sank near Kinmen County after wet weather and rough seas flooded its cabin, the Naval Fleet Command said. The vessel, called Landing Craft Mechanized 1326, had completed transport and replenishment missions in the county and was returning to Taiwan proper when surging waves flooded the cabin, the navy said in a statement. The craft’s five crew members tried to bail out the water to no avail, the Navy said. The landing craft eventually sank off Kinmen’s Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣) at 5:18pm, although all crew members rescued, it said, adding that the precise cause of the sinking
FAMILY BACKGROUND: Chiang was effective in running a cautious campaign to avoid making mistakes, waiting for other candidates to slip up, an analyst said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei Mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) stood out among his rivals due to his energy, his die-hard supporters and his relative openness to discuss issues such as same-sex marriage, a political analyst said yesterday. Chiang’s campaign was also aided by his family’s background in politics, which helped him garner greater support in Taipei where there is a large KMT base, said the analyst, who chose to remain anonymous. “Chiang is also not a typical KMT member when it comes to certain issues, such as gay marriage, and his more open stance widened his support base — particularly among young
TOURIST HOTSPOT: The air charter services would drastically cut travel time to the world-renowned beach with its service to Caticlan, instead of Kalibo Royal Air Philippines is to launch next month direct flights between Taiwan and the Philippine city of Caticlan, a closer entry point to tourist hotspot Boracay. The airline will initially offer six charter flights between Dec. 26 and Jan. 15, with the flight frequency increasing to one per day during the Lunar New Year and winter holidays from Jan. 19 to Feb. 8, it announced at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. The charter flight services will drastically cut travel time to Boracay to about two hours and 45 minutes. Before the new route is launched, travelers from Taiwan who
RSS