Lawmakers’ establishment of service centers outside their own constituencies shows that they are already preparing for the seven-in-one elections to be held at the end of next year, political analysts are saying.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Chi Kuo-tung (紀國棟) and Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆) have been the first to open up the service centers.
Tsai’s opened up an office in the eastern district of Greater Taichung yesterday with a launch that was attended by Legislative Yuan Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國), Taichung Council Deputy Speaker Chang hung-nein (張宏年) and singer Tsai Yi-te (蔡義德).
In a speech at the opening ceremony, Wang said that Tsai Chin-lung — a three-term legislator who also doubled as secretary-general of the DPP legislative caucus — had shown great ability when he worked for the central government.
His establishment of a service office at the eastern district shows that he aspires to higher goals, Wang said, adding that Tsai should plan his moves carefully.
Asked if he would support Tsai Chin-lung as a candidate for Greater Taichung mayor, Wang did not answer, instead saying that the local DPP headquarters would step in to mediate if there were more than one candidate for the race.
If necessary, the decision could be made by consulting polls, Wang said, adding that he would back whoever the DPP nominated.
Tsai plans to open a total of eight service offices in Greater Taichung this week.
The coast guard on Friday took a Chinese fishing boat and the 17 people on board into custody, after it rammed into a patrol boat while attempting to flee. A 100-tonne coast guard vessel at about 8am discovered a Chinese fishing boat illegally operating in waters about 11 nautical miles (20.4km) northwest of Hsinchu, the Hsinchu offshore flotilla of the Coast Guard Administration said. The crew refused to allow law enforcement to board the ship and attempted to flee, it added. The coast guard vessel and another ship chased the fishing boat for about a half hour, during which time the Chinese boat
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday said that Beijing was trying to “annex” Taiwan, while China said its recent series of drills near Taiwan are aimed at combating the “arrogance” of separatist forces. The Ministry of National Defense earlier this month said that it had observed dozens of Chinese fighters, drones, bombers and other aircraft, as well as warships and the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong, operating nearby. The increased frequency of China’s military activities has raised the risk of events “getting out of hand” and sparking an accidental clash, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said last week. Asked about the spurt
China’s Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong has asked foreign consulates in Hong Kong to submit details of their local staff, which is more proof that the “one country, two systems” model no longer exists, a Taiwanese academic said. The office sent letters dated Monday last week to consulates in the territory, giving them one month to submit the information it requires. The move followed Beijing’s attempt to obtain floor plans for all properties used by foreign missions in Hong Kong last year, which raised concerns among diplomats that the information could be used for
‘ABNORMITY’: News of the military exercises on the coast of the Chinese province facing Taiwan were made public by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday Taiwan’s military yesterday said it has detected the Chinese military initiating a round of exercises at a bay area in coastal Fujian Province, which faces Taiwan, since early yesterday morning and it has been closely monitoring the drills. The exercises being conducted at Fujian’s Dacheng Bay featured an undisclosed number of People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) warplanes, warships and ground troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in a press statement. The ministry did not disclose what kind of military exercises are being conducted there and for how long they would be happening, but it did say that it has been closely watching
RSS